The People's Republic of China (PRC)

This document has furthered my interest in reading other countries climate change policies. Climate change has had a big impact in the Arctic which @Griffen Ballenger has shared several times throughout our discussions, and with China declaring itself an arctic state they should be taking climate change very seriously. The fact that China has roughly 45% of the electric cars and 99% of the electric buses is a great step help them lower their contribution to climate change. I think that as technology advances more and more industries will be going to electric power and manufacture after manufacture building electric vehicles rather then petroleum/gas reliant cars. With agreements in place, such as the Paris Agreement, the amount of climate change should in theory start to decrease and become more stabilized however unless there are some sort of sanctions or punishments given to those that do not fall in line then an international treaty is just a piece of paper and nothing is forcing countries hands to follow their word. Another worrying aspect to think about is how the world will view climate change when such an influential world power like the United States no longer is party to the Paris Agreement. Overall, this is a serious topic. I think as the world explores more of the arctic, the more traction and the greater attention climate change will receive.

I believe I have expressed my concerns over climate change in multiple posts on this platform. Climate change is real and needs to be a concern for all. This document is interesting to me as it focuses on the positives and negatives of China’s history with climate change and protecting mother nature. I was thankful to see that July 2020 had not followed suit and one-upped July 2019. Specific to China however, I am extremely thankful that they agreed to sign on the Paris Climate agreement. I am hopeful that other nations and world powers will do their part to follow the agreement and re-join where necessary. China has some interesting statistics when it comes to emissions and their progress in meeting their targets [1]. As the document reflects, China was the leading the world in emissions. I am hopeful that the actions China has agreed to and propose can narrow the margin. I certainly hope that China, as well as other world powers recognize the threat of climate change and work to correct the problem.

[1]. Climate Action Tracker

https://climateactiontracker.org/countries/china/pledges-and-targets/

China has a paradoxical nature with climate change. While it is the leading polluter and contributor to carbon emissions, it also leads in creating emission-reducing technologies and green energy projects. China has been a leading influence on international agreements regarding climate change although at times it does not meet the requirements of the climate accords it works with. Like the US, it is hard for China to meet these requirements, when it has one of largest economies, is one of the largest producers and exporters and has over 1 billion people. One thing the international community can agree on with China is that climate change should be a top priority for the world, especially for countries that are large contributors to carbon emissions. The US, which has had at times a strained relationship with its major economic partner, China, looks forward to working with China to create a better environment. https://www.economist.com/special-report/2018/03/15/china-is-rapidly-developing-its-clean-energy-technology

China and climate change are two different beings that when you think of one, you think of the other. We can see that climate change is real not only through the temperatures, but also through the pollution. For example, early on in the COVID pandemic we saw that from space the air above China was clearer because they were not producing as much product and putting these gasses and pollution into the air. I found it interesting that China is the leader in contributing to climate change, but also the leader in combatting it. I feel like you cannot do both without completely quitting one. If they are going to keep producing and releasing co2 into the environment, then what does it help if they are fighting it unless they completely change their ways of producing things to more sustainable ways. It is also interesting that to fight climate change the world needs China, while it makes sense it would also help if countries worked on their own environments as well as entering treaties to start taking a bigger step toward fighting climate change, this also mean making a deal with China.

China's impact on global climate change is very polarized. On the one hand, it is the leading producer of CO2 and has increased its reliance on coal, but on the other, it is leading the world in producing renewable energy and transitioning to electric vehicles. Which represents the immense amount of energy the country needs to operate.

I think it is also important to note that while China is the largest producer of CO2 in the world, it is not the largest producer of CO2 per capita in the world. Based on data from 2018, China is the thirteenth largest producer of CO2 per capita, ranking well below other nations, such as the U.S., Saudi Arabia, Australia, and Canada. That said, however, the rate at which China is building coal power plants and the rate they are building them in other countries, such as those in Southern Africa, is worrying, and it is for this reason I see their 2060 goal as being somewhat unrealistic.

I suppose my biggest question is whether or not a Biden administration will make climate change a bigger aspect of trade with China. In the first presidential debate, President-Elect Joe Biden said that he would consider pressuring Brazil to stop its damaging activities in the Amazon rainforest. Climate could be a source of contention between the US and China, and in future trade disputes, a Biden administration could make this a bigger part of the deal. But it could also be a source of cooperation between the two, and potentially serve as a bridge to repair some relations. The next four years may indeed be a pivotal period in establishing how China's energy policy will look long term.

China's relation to climate change is a very important one that has ramifications for the rest of the world's wellbeing. In 2018 China was the biggest CO2 emitter, releasing 10.06GT, but also is a leading innovator when it comes to sustainable technology and alternative power sources. It has been clear through the last four years that with the new US-China trade war, the US has all but forgotten about any allegiances to protect the environment, for example opening up historically protected lands for oil drilling.

It is obvious that if the global community wants to create a significant impact on the speed that climate change is developing at, there is no hope without China. China's plan to be completely carbon neutral by 2060 is a very high goal and has gained worldwide skepticism in regards to its practicality. Many proposals call for the strategy of beginning to generate clean zero-emission power before moving into the implementation of this energy anywhere possible. The next step would then be to find ways to collect the pollution that is created when CO2 is released and ultimately storing it underground. Another proposal calls for nuclear energy production, increasing it to 28% on top of 21% wind, 17% solar, 14% hydropower, and 8% biomass. A large problem with this plan is the cost of shifting Chinese production off of fossil fuels. Coal-fired power alone accounts for more than 60% of all electricity in the country.

Another ongoing barrier to China's 2060 goal is the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative. A study published in November of 2019 said that it was likely that the construction of these initiatives would disrupt the ecosystems of up to 800 different species. Chinese dams for hydropower along Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam are already disrupting river flow changes and fish migration (which in turn affects the communities on the coast). This is just one example of the disruption this project will introduce into the region.

It was very interesting learning about the NPC and China. The equivalent would be the United States Congress, both the Senate and the House of Representatives in the United States. Each State representative is elected from areas within the state and is elected for a term. The differences I have chosen to highlight are the following. In China, that term is 5 years however it depends on what level of Congress you belong to in the US. Senators hold positions for 6 years and House Representatives hold positions for 2 years. In China, there are 2,980 Deputies while in the United States there are 535 members. The NPC meets in session once a year while the US Senate meets twice a year. A session of the NPC may be convened at any time the Standing Committee deems it necessary or when more than one-fifth of the deputies to the NPC propose it and the same way in the United States, The congress can be called into session for special reasons. In China, only the NPC has the power to amend the Constitution, whereas in the US the Congress starts the process and the individual states finish it. Overall, Similarities and differences can be drawn between the United States and China for any process. The biggest difference I would point out is the US is the picture Child of the free world, so it is at the forefront of the world’s media. China’s elections are not publicized nearly to the same extent as the US’s are. It is for those reasons why I think the broad sense of the population in the world knows who the US president is and not other countries such as China.

I always found it interesting that there is little US coverage of the Chinese elections or rather any foreign elections. This is juxtaposed to the US presidential elections being front page news in other countries. I would have appreciated this article including some upcoming reports to be voted on. The reports on the plan for national economic and social development and its implementation would be an interesting read from a national security perspective. The topic areas such as the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region interests me. I did not know that was a decision decided by the NPC. Prior to this article I was unaware of how much power the NPC had in China’s political sphere. I am curious to see how future elections change members of office and state operations.