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China’s Multifaceted Climate Record
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China’s Multifaceted Climate Record

Isabel Hilton, Li Jing, Feng Hao, Lili Pike, Wu Yixiu, Cao Yue, Yao Zhe, Robert Souta, Kayleigh Long, Fermín Koop, Abigail Beall, Hettie O’Brien, Charlotte Middlehurst, Catherine Early, Zhang Chun and Li Yifan
Chinadialogue, 2018
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Editorial Rating

7

Qualities

  • Overview
  • Concrete Examples
  • Insider's Take

Recommendation

China’s rapid rise to an economic superpower has greatly increased its global environmental footprint. Yet the country’s elevated economic and political status has also given it considerable leverage in shaping global environmental protection efforts. The nonprofit organization Chinadialogue monitors the country’s environmental challenges and has experts from inside and outside China weigh in on ways to mitigate them. This report – published ahead of the 2018 Climate Change Conference in Katowice, Poland – discusses the extent to which China is following up its pro-climate political rhetoric with concrete actions and how China is addressing other environmental issues of global importance.

Take-Aways

  • China’s economic policies don’t always reflect its commitment to curb greenhouse gas emissions. Its construction of new coal-fired power plants in 2018 is a case in point.
  • As a leading investor in Africa’s energy sector, China could do more to nudge the continent toward a more climate-friendly future. 
  • China’s new ban on foreign waste imports will negatively affect its carbon footprint. For example, recycling aluminum is 90% more energy-efficient than making new aluminum. 

About the Authors

The authors write or edit for Chinadialogue, a nonprofit organization – founded by Isabel Hilton – that provides independent reports about China’s impact on the environment.

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