
Navigating dilemmas: China’s environmental policies and their implications for climate change, resource management, and future generations
- 1 St. Paul’s School, London
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
This research paper critically examines China’s role as the world’s largest emitter of carbon dioxide and its pivotal position in global climate change mitigation efforts. The analysis encompasses China’s environmental policies initiated since 1979, formally approved by the legislative body, the NPC, in 1989. Though significant economic developments were made since the country’s reform and opening in 1979, it is acknowledged that this progress has been accompanied by substantial environmental degradation. In response, the government amended environmental laws in 2014, reflecting a commitment to address these challenges. However, this paper contends that substantial efforts are still required to achieve meaningful environmental improvement. The research further delves into the anticipated impacts of Chinese policies on crucial aspects, namely Climate Change, Resource Management, and the well-being of Future Generations, providing comprehensive insights into the multifaceted implications of China’s environmental trajectory.
Keywords
carbon emission mitigation; environmental refugees; green investment; greenhouse gas; natural resource rent; nuclear energy; renewable energy
[1]. Banerjee, A., & Carrion‐i‐Silvestre, J. L. (2017). Testing for panel cointegration using common correlated effects estimators. Journal of Time Series Analysis, 38(4), 610-636.
[2]. Burke, E. III, & Pomeranz, K. (Eds.). (2009). The Environment and World History. University of California Press.
[3]. Chen, X., & Lin, B. (2021). Towards carbon neutrality by implementing carbon emissions trading scheme: Policy evaluation in China. Energy Policy, 157, 112510. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2021.112510.
[4]. Chinese Government. (2014). Environmental Protection Law of the People’s Republic of China (Presidential Order No. 9). Retrieved from https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/2014-04/25/content_2666434.htm (Accessed on September 30, 2023).
[5]. Chinese Government. (2021). 《中国本世纪中叶长期温室气体 低排放发展战略》Zhōngguó běn shìjì zhōngyè chángqí wēnshì qìtǐ dī páifàng fāzhǎn zhànlüè, China’s Mid-Century Long-Term Low Greenhouse Gas Emission Development Strategy. Retrieved from https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/LTS1_China_CH.pdf (Accessed on November 1, 2023). Unofficial English translation available at https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/China%E2%80%99s%20Mid-Century%20Long-Term%20Low%20Greenhouse%20Gas%20Emission%20Development%20Strategy.pdf
[6]. Clifford, C. (2023). How China became the king of new nuclear power, and how the U.S. is trying to stage a comeback. CNBC. Retrieved from https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/30/how-china-became-king-of-new-nuclear-power-how-us-could-catch-up.html (Accessed on November 1, 2023).
[7]. Day, E., Fankhauser, S., Kingsmill, N., Costa, H., & Mavrogianni, A. (2019). Upholding labour productivity under climate change: an assessment of adaptation options. Climate Policy, 19(3), 367-385.
[8]. Diprose, K., Liu, C., Valentine, G., Vanderbeck, R. M., & McQuaid, K. (2019). Caring for the future: Climate change and intergenerational responsibility in China and the UK. Geoforum, 105, 158-167. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2019.05.019.
[9]. Economy, E. C. (2007). The Great Leap Backward? Foreign Affairs, 86(5), 2.
[10]. Elvin, M. (2004). The Retreat of the Elephants: An Environmental History of China. Yale University Press.
[11]. Friedman, L. (2023). U.S. and China on Climate: How the World’s Two Largest Polluters Stack Up. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/19/climate/us-china-climate-issues.html (Accessed on October 5, 2023).
[12]. Frankfurt School – UNEP Collaborating Centre for Climate & Sustainable Energy Finance. (2018). Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2018. Retrieved from https://europa.eu/capacity4dev/unep/documents/global-trends-renewable-energy-investment-2018 (Accessed on October 8, 2023).
[13]. Gasparini, A. (2020). China Has Successfully Improved Air Quality, but the Efforts Could Unmask Further Global Warming. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/allisongasparini/2020/09/30/china-has-successfully-improved-air-quality-but-the-efforts-could-unmask-further-global-warming/?sh=30a1247d34a0 (Accessed on October 9, 2023).
[14]. Govindaraju, V. C., & Tang, C. F. (2013). The dynamic links between CO2 emissions, economic growth and coal consumption in China and India. Applied Energy, 104, 310-318.
[15]. Hamdi, H., & Hakimi, A. (2021). Trade openness, foreign direct investment, and human development: a panel cointegration analysis for MENA countries. International Trade Journal, 1-20.
[16]. He, J., Liu, H., & Salvo, A. (2019). Severe air pollution and labour productivity: evidence from industrial towns in China. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 11(1), 173-201.
[17]. Huang, S.-Z., Chau, K. Y., Chien, F., & Shen, H. (2020). The impact of startups’ dual learning on their green innovation capability: the effects of business executives’ environmental awareness and environmental regulations. Sustainability, 12(16), 6526.
[18]. Koondhar, M. A., Udemba, E. N., Cheng, Y., Khan, Z. A., Batool, M., & Kong, R. (2021). Asymmetric causality among carbon emission from agriculture, energy consumption, fertilizer, and cereal food production–a nonlinear analysis for Pakistan. Sustain. Energy Technol. Assessments, 45, Article 101099.
[19]. Knutson, J., Freedman, A., & Davis, E. (2022). July heat records shattered across the U.S. Axios. Retrieved from https://www.axios.com/2022/08/03/july-heat-records-us (Accessed on October 29, 2023).
[20]. Li, R., Wang, Q., & Zhan, L. (2021). Economic Growth and Carbon Emission Nexus: A Survey.
[21]. Liu, Z., Deng, Z., He, G., et al. (2022). Challenges and opportunities for carbon neutrality in China. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, 3, 141–155. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-021-00244-x. (Accessed on 22 August 2023).
[22]. Mallapaty, S. (2020). How China could be carbon neutral by mid-century. Nature, 586, 482-483.
[23]. McGreevy, A. M. (2010). China’s Environmental Challenges. Education About Asia. Retrieved from https://www.asianstudies.org/publications/eaa/archives/chinas-environmental-challenges-2/ (Accessed on August 10, 2023).
[24]. Myllyvirta, L. (2022). Beijing’s air quality meets national standards: a major milestone in China’s war on smog. Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA). Retrieved from https://energyandcleanair.org/beijings-air-quality-meets-national-standards/ (Accessed on October 23, 2023).
[25]. Myllyvirta, L., & Qin, Q. (2023). Analysis: China’s CO2 emissions in Q2 2023 rebound to 2021’s record levels. China Policy. Retrieved from https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-chinas-CO2-emissions-in-q2-2023-rebound-to-2021s-record-levels/#:~:text=China’s%20CO2%20emissions%20increased%20an,the%20record%20levels%20of%202021 (Accessed on November 2, 2023).
[26]. Pablo-Romero, M. d. P., Sánchez-Braza, A., & Sánchez-Rivas, J. (2021). Tourism and electricity consumption in 9 European countries: a decomposition analysis approach. Current Issues in Tourism, 24(1), 82-97.
[27]. Rafi, F. (2023). China’s Rise in Electric Vehicles. Riscura. Retrieved from https://riscura.com/newsroom/chinas-rise-in-electric vehicles/#:~:text=%E2%80%8BWhile%20China%20already%20accounts,the%20research%20and%20development%20efforts (Accessed on September 23, 2023).
[28]. Sandalow, D., et al. (2022). Guide to Chinese Climate Policy 2022. Oxford Institute of Energy Studies. Retrieved from https://chineseclimatepolicy.oxfordenergy.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Guide-to-Chinese-Climate-Policy-2022.pdf (Accessed on October 27, 2023).
[29]. Simon, J. (2023). China is building six times more new coal plants than other countries, report finds. NPR. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2023/03/02/1160441919/china-is-building-six-times-more-new-coal-plants-than-other-countries-report-fin (Accessed on October 27, 2023).
[30]. Stallard, E., & Poynting, M. (2023, September 19). How climate change worsens heatwaves, droughts, wildfires, and floods. BBC News. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-58073295 (Accessed on October 29, 2023).
[31]. Thuan, N., & Hai, D. B. (2021). The impact of energy consumption on carbon intensity of human well-being (CIWB). Ho Chi Minh City Open Univ. J. Sci. Econ. Bus. Admin., 11(1), 19-28.
[32]. UNFCC. (2016). The Paris Agreement. Retrieved from https://unfccc.int/process-andmeetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement.
[33]. Wan, Q., Miao, X., Afshan, S. (2022). Dynamic effects of natural resource abundance, green financing, and government environmental concerns toward the sustainable environment in China. Resources Policy, 79, 102954. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2022.102954. (Accessed on 21 October 2023).
[34]. Wesoff, E., & Olano, M. V. (2023). Chart: China’s solar export dominance grows with surging European orders. Canary Media. Retrieved from https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/solar/chart-chinas-solar-export-dominance-grows-with-surging-european-orders#:~:text=The%20solar%2Dproduction%20prowess%20of,no%20signs%20of%20slowing%20down (Accessed on December 25, 2023).
[35]. World Bank Report. (2022). China Country Climate and Development Report. Retrieved from https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/35ea9337-dfcf-5d60-9806-65913459d928/content (Accessed on October 9, 2023).
[36]. Wan, Q., Miao, X., & Afshan, S. (2022). Dynamic effects of natural resource abundance, green financing, and government environmental concerns toward the sustainable environment in China. Resources Policy, 79, 102954. ISSN 0301-4207. DOI: 10.1016/j.resourpol.2022.102954. Available at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301420722003981. (Accessed on 2 November 2023)
[37]. World Nuclear Association Report. (2023). Nuclear Power in China. Retrieved from https://world-nuclear.org/information-library/country-profiles/countries-a-f/china-nuclear-power.aspx#:~:text=The%20impetus%20for%20nuclear%20power,while%20adapting%20and%20improving%20it (Accessed on November 9, 2023).
[38]. Wu, Y., Chen, C., & Hu, C. (2021). The impacts of trade intensity with China on carbon emissions in Belt and Road countries. Journal of Asia Pacific Economics, 1-21.
[39]. Yang, Z. (2023). How Did China Come to Dominate the World of Electric Cars? MIT Technology Review. Retrieved from https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/02/21/1068880/how-did-china-dominate-electric-cars-policy (Accessed on October 10, 2023).
[40]. United Nations Environment Programme. (n.d.). Beijing’s Battle to Clean Up Its Air. Retrieved from https://www.unep.org/interactive/beat-air-pollution/#:~:text=Cleaner%20air&text=The%20annual%20average%20PM2.,by%20nearly%2038%20per%20cent (Accessed on October 27, 2023).
[41]. Umar, M., Ji, X., Mirza, N., & Naqvi, B. (2021). Carbon neutrality, bank lending, and credit risk: evidence from the Eurozone. Journal of Environmental Management, 296, 113156.
[42]. You, X. (2023, November 7). The 'new three': How China came to lead solar cell, lithium battery, and EV manufacturing. China Dialogue. Retrieved from https://chinadialogue.net/en/business/new-three-china-solar-cell-lithium-battery-ev/?utm_source=CD+newsletter_English&utm_campaign=6293f3048a-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_05_23_02_23_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f0723a89b3-6293f3048a-46785241&mc_cid=6293f3048a&mc_eid=3610e4da8b.
[43]. Zhao, X., Ma, X., Chen, B., Shang, Y., & Song, M. (2022). Challenges toward carbon neutrality in China: Strategies and countermeasures. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 176, 105959. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2021.105959. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921344921005681.
[44]. 邹家华Zou, J. (1998). 全国人大常委会执法检查组关于检查《海洋环境保护法》实施情况的报告(摘要) Quánguó réndà chángwěi huì zhífǎ jiǎnchá zǔ guānyú jiǎnchá “hǎiyáng huánjìng bǎohù fǎ” shíshī qíngkuàng de bàogào (zhāiyào) Report of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee’s Enforcement Inspection Team on the Implementation of the Marine Environmental Protection Law (Summary). 第九届全国人民代表大会常务委员会第四次会议上 Dì jiǔ jiè quánguó rénmín dàibiǎo dàhuì chángwù wěiyuánhuì dì sì cì huìyì shàng Fourth Session of the Ninth National People’s Congress Standing Committee.
[45]. Zhu, T. T., Peng, H. R., Zhang, Y. J., & Liu, J. Y. (2021). Does higher education development facilitate carbon emissions reduction in China? Applied Economics, 53(47), 5490-5502.
Cite this article
Kumar,Y. (2023). Navigating dilemmas: China’s environmental policies and their implications for climate change, resource management, and future generations. Advances in Engineering Innovation,4,1-15.
Data availability
The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.
Disclaimer/Publisher's Note
The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of EWA Publishing and/or the editor(s). EWA Publishing and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content.
About volume
Journal:Advances in Engineering Innovation
© 2024 by the author(s). Licensee EWA Publishing, Oxford, UK. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and
conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. Authors who
publish this series agree to the following terms:
1. Authors retain copyright and grant the series right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this
series.
2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the series's published
version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial
publication in this series.
3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and
during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See
Open access policy for details).