Paging Earth is a climate communications blog dedicated to demystifying, depolarizing and educating the public about climate activism and climate science. Now that we’ve discussed the nuances of the climate crisis, let’s talk about viable solutions.
President Xi Jinping, the current president of China, has openly recognized that climate change requires ambitious action and cooperation. In favor of the work of the United Nations, he believes that international law is an incredibly effective way of encouraging climate governance. Xi has also stated that China is committed to upholding the principles of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement.Â
Although efforts from China have been criticized, support of environmental action from Xi is imperative to reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. Beliefs, words, and commitments, however, are not actions. China is responsible for nearly one-third of emissions that can be linked to climate change. This is largely due to the nation’s heavy coal consumption and a rise in global cryptocurrency trading. There is much room for necessary improvement in China.
Current Climate Policies
The Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People’s Republic of China is a government agency that actively seeks to improve China’s environmental quality. Taking the lead role in work related to climate change, the Ministry creates environmental protection policies and enforces laws related to China’s ecological environment.
The Ministry’s current climate mitigation strategies are thorough. Promoting proactive climate actions, the plan largely focuses on adjusting China’s industrial structure and energy efficiency. It acknowledges that China must begin controlling coal consumption and begin a switchover to non-fossil energy. The plan also promotes energy efficiency within some of China’s top industries, such as construction, transportation, and agriculture.Â
The Chinese Communist Party, the governing political party of China, releases an ongoing series of five-year plans that focus on social and economic development. The 14th issue in this series, which was approved by the National People’s Congress in 2021, proposes guidance for environmental development. The central goal of the plan is to mark 2030 as the peak point of China’s carbon emission rates. Consumption is still allowed to grow until this marked point.
The 14th five-year plan has an additional focus on business operations. With a goal of reaching net-zero emissions, China’s supply chain will see a significant shift. The coal industry in particular, a driving force in China’s economy, will need to see the most dramatic changes to reduce carbon emissions. Business owners will be encouraged to equip their operations with renewable energy sources.
Criticism of China’s Climate Action
While Xi has been vocal about the Chinese government’s commitments to its climate targets, these commitments — along with attempts to stick to them — have been met with harsh criticism. New coal power plants continue to open in China and coal provides the nation with 60% of its power. Also, the process of mining for cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin, comes with a heavy environmental cost as it is primarily powered by fossil fuels.
China’s approach to climate change has been deemed highly insufficient by independent scientific analysts of government climate action. This is because China is currently not at all on track to be in compliance with the goals of the Paris Agreement. China has also not actively retracted support from its coal industry, meaning that coal usage is expanding across the nation while it declines in the rest of the world.
Figures of central authority in China, such as Xi, seem to have contrasting views on environmental policy reform compared to more local authority figures. Local officials have relaxed environmental restrictions, expanded infrastructure development, and provided coal stimulus. While these discrepancies were driven by COVID-19, the plan to make China carbon neutral by 2060 becomes increasingly difficult because of them.
China’s inability to demonstrate substantial reductions in coal power is the nation’s biggest detriment in regard to climate policy. While China’s agencies have pledged to restrict coal use, it is beginning to expand coal industries in other nations — in addition to the creation of small-scale coal plants within China. The combined total of these upcoming coal plants will produce more emissions than most industrialized countries do currently.
Room for Improvement in the Future
While China’s environmental policies evolve every year, the nation must begin to progress more rapidly to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. Coal consumption as well as the coal industry’s expansion must be slowed by the Chinese government both domestically and abroad.Â
An effective approach to environmental action would have to be all-hands-on-deck with China’s central officials and local officials agreeing on a single, drastic course of action to limiting greenhouse gas emissions. Individuals should never feel as if those that represent them go against their own safety. The first step to solving a problem is to recognize that it is a problem in the first place. Without this recognition, nothing can be done.