1. China's Climate- and Energy-security Dilemma: Shaping a New Path of Economic Growth
- Author:
- Karl Hallding, Guoyi Han, and Marie Olsson
- Publication Date:
- 12-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- China is undergoing modernization at a scale and speed the world has never witnessed. As climate change increasingly dominates the global agenda, China faces the challenge of shaping a new growth path in a climate-constrained world. The paper argues that China's current climate and energy policy is, at best, a “repackaging” of existing energy and environmental strategies with co-benefits for the mitigation of climate change. Nevertheless, even though policies are not climate-change driven, the quick (rhetorical) endorsement of low-carbon development and the strong momentum of green technologies indicate that political ambitions are in favour of finding a more sustainable development pathway. A new growth path would, how-ever, require a fundamental shift, with development and energy strategies being set within climate security constraints. The eventual success of this new path remains uncertain.
- Topic:
- Security, Climate Change, Economics, and Environment
- Political Geography:
- China