Running Head: MAJOR CONCERNS OF CLIMATE CHANGE
IN CHINA 1
MAJOR CONCERNS OF CLIMATE CHANGE IN CHINA 10
Major Concerns of Climate Change in China
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Major Concerns of Climate Change in China
Introduction
China is one of the critical countries in the world, which are
considered to significantly contribute to the issue of climate
change. Research indicates that China produces over 6.000
megatons of carbon dioxide every year. The increased
concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is associated
with increase in global warming, which perpetrates the climate
change. To this end, China is regarded as the largest emitter of

greenhouse gases across the globe based on absolute terms,
contributing to about 22 percent of the total amount of
emissions (Held, Nag & Roger, 2011). At the moment, the
emissions of the greenhouse gases by China have exceeded the
global per capita average, following the growth in the emissions
by over 200 percent from 1990 to 2008. The concern of
increased greenhouse gases emissions in China is largely
associated with the countries appetite for economic growth. The
historical growth of the Chinese economy has been
tremendously effected through the use of fossil fuels as a major
source of energy in industries. Despite the increased desire from
the global community to mitigate the impacts of climate change,
there is fear that the emission of greenhouse gases in the
country may rise by between 55 and 75 by 2025 (Held, Nag &
Roger, 2011). Therefore, it is important to discuss the different
concerns presented by China regarding the issue of climate
change that is tremendously perpetrated by increase in emission
of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
Overview of the Issue of Climate Change in China
The Chinese government has established policies that are
aimed at adopting effective governance of climate change,
improved domestic capacity of effectively governing the energy
use and emissions, as well as supporting the commitments that
positively impact decline in future international emissions.
China acknowledges the need to lower the emission of
greenhouse gases as well as mitigating the impacts of climate
change, which is a critical solution towards obtaining a
healthier international environment (Lipin, 2016). As a matter
of fact, numerous multinational negotiations have been
advanced so as to develop a global climate regime that governs
the efforts of reducing the emission of carbon dioxide and other
greenhouse gases. Being among the world’s largest polluters,
China has received increase attention from the global
community. The country, which has the highest population of
over 1.3 billion, has been steadfastly reluctant to comply to the
suggestions by international organizations such as the United

Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
(Held, Nag & Roger, 2011). These organizations have been
engaged in pushing for adoption of binding commitments to
countries towards reduction of the greenhouse gases.
China is largely motivated by a mix of economic, political,
and equity-based attributes, which makes the country’s policy
makers to consistently make arguments that the countries that
have already experienced superior levels of industrialization
such as United States should be in the forefront of mitigating
the impacts of climate change (Lipin, 2016). China has been
constantly accused of compromising the global efforts of
mitigating climate change. China’s effect on greenhouse gas
emissions have been found to grow significantly, which has
perpetrated increase in the growth of concerns regarding the
wellbeing of the energy security, environment, as well as its
vulnerability to the climate change (Lipin, 2016).
Following the increased prominence of the concerns from
the domestic and international community towards China’s level
of greenhouse gases emissions, the Chinese government has
undertaken numerous domestic efforts that seek to alleviate the
condition of climate change in the country. The policymakers in
the country have recognized the need for improved governance
in numerous critical sectors that are associated with climate
change, particularly the energy sector in the country. To a large
extent, China has been involved in substantial, if not complete,
institutional efforts of reformation of the energy sector. The
country has witnessed a significant growth in the capacity of
different domestic governance institutions, that have made
remarkable strides towards enhancement of the country’s ability
to develop several ambitious programs and policies that seek to
increase the efficiency of energy and its conservation. Efforts
by the Chinese government have also been advanced so as to
encourage increased utilization of renewable sources of energy
and reduction of greenhouse gases emission.
Over the last few years, China seems to have adjusted its
initial position regarding different critical issues that have been

developed in the UNFCCC negotiations. The adjustment has
largely focused on transfer of technology and finance,
mechanisms related to flexibility, as well as the nature of the
commitments provided by the United Nations (UN) body (Held,
Nag & Roger, 2011). In addition, in response to the constant
challenged in the negotiations put forward by the UNFCCC,
there is increased number of governmental units in China, such
as non-governmental organizations, individual firms, private
actors, and municipal governments, which are actively
participating in different voluntary transnational governance
arrangements, which attempt to effectively put measures that
mitigate the negative impacts of climate change without the
need for a multilateral agreement.
Concerns of the Chinese Government
As noted earlier, the issue of climate change in China has been
significantly influenced by numerous critical considerations.
Most of the business and government authorities in China have
been largely motivated by economic and political aspects. The
country is tremendously concerned with the maintenance of the
position of the Chinese society. As a consequence, the Chinese
policymakers are greatly determined to ensure that the living
standards of the citizens are significantly improved (Held, Nag
& Roger, 2011). Another concern related to the energy security
in the country, which includes the access to reliable, affordable,
and adequate energy supplies, as well as the general efficiency
of the Chinese economy.
In addition, the businesses, mass public, and policymakers have
an increased concern regarding the vulnerability of their
country to negative impacts of climate change, which may have
adverse effects on the Chinese society and economy. China is
also motivated by international perspectives, particularly the
concerns related to equity, sovereignty, as well as the
international image of the country among both developing and
developed countries (Yu et al., 2013). All of the mentioned
concerns push the policies in the country in different directions.
However, the policies have contributed to significant changes in

governance, policies, and policymaking in the country in
numerous areas.
Economic and Environmental Concerns
After 1980, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of China has
experienced a growth of over 1110 percent when measured
based on the Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) terms, which has
made China overtake Japan as the second largest economy
across the globe. Due to the slow growth in population, China’s
GDP per capita has witnessed an increase by about 800 percent
(Yu et al., 2013). In addition, the number of Chinese people
living in extreme poverty has experienced a decline by of about
500 million people. Through preventing any major distortion to
the impressive economic trends, the Chinese government is
determined to realize even more economic success, as the
policymakers have a strong belief that the country can
potentially become the major engine that drives the global
economy in the coming decades (Yu et al., 2013).
However, despite the fact the tremendous growth in the
economy of China has perpetrated to many material benefits to
its citizens, such success has been associated with significant
cost to the environment. The high population has led to
increased demand for land, energy, and water, while there has
been considerable depletion of the forests in the country, which
has resulted in flooding and desertification (Yu et al., 2013).
Moreover, the country has witnessed a dramatic increase in
water and air pollution due to the increased use of fossil fuels
thus increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere. In China, the economic costs related to resource
depletion and environmental degradation have been estimated to
be between 8 and 12 percent of the country’s GDP (Wu et al.,
2018). In addition, the country’s policymakers are concerned
about the effects of resource depletion and environmental
depletion on the public health, and thus there is increased
concern about the environmental threats associated with
emission of greenhouse gases. Although the environmental
threats still remain subordinate to the country’s economic

development, the sustainable use of resources and protection of
the environment have slowly been integrated in the list of
priorities by the Chinese government.
Energy Concerns
The rapid economic growth of China after 1980 has heavily
depended on energy. The expansion of the country’s economy
has led to increase in use of energy by over 200 percent.
Currently, China is the second largest consumer and producer of
energy across the globe, with only United States ahead. The
manufacturing industry in China, which primarily survives on
energy use contributes to the major exports that greatly
composes the country’s GDP. This accounts for about 60
percent of the country’s total consumption of energy (Wu et al.,
2018). The close tradeoff between the country’s economic
development and increase use of energy implies that the energy
policy is a primary concern for the Chinese government.
Within the Chinese boarders, there are about 120 billion
tons of coal reserved, which is estimated to be about 15 percent
of the total coal in the world (Wu et al., 2018). As a result, the
source of industrial energy is China is tremendously skewed
towards use of coal, which remains the fuel that is most
emissions-intensive. As a matter of fact, China depends of coal
for as high as 68 percent of the energy requirements, which
makes the country one of the most intensive consumer of carbon
dioxide in the entire world (Yu et al., 2013). With increased use
of energy, the annual consumption of coal in the country has
more than doubled, reaching about 2.7 billion tons in 2008 from
1.1 billion in 1990 (Wu et al., 2018). Apart from coal as a
source of energy, China has heavily utilized oil in numerous
industrial functions. Additionally, oil has been used in the
motor vehicles in China, which are estimated to be over 180
million. Wu et al. (2018) argues that oil represents the second
largest component of energy mix in China, amounting to about
19 percent of the total amount of energy consumed in the
country. The natural gas is another important source of energy
in China, and accounts for about 3,77 percent of the total energy

used. The share of natural gas in China’s energy mix is
experiencing significant expansion (Wu et al., 2018).
International Policy Concerns
A high number of the international concerns that influence the
foreign policy in China as largely associated with the
longstanding historically or politically-rooted factors and
normative values, which affect the behavior of the country in
numerous issue areas. The major international concerns that
have been found through research to relate to China’s foreign
policy include image, equity, and sovereignty (Engels, 2018).
These concerns have significantly contributed to shaping the
country’s policies on nuclear non-proliferation, finance, trade,
international institutions, as well as climate change from a
broader perspective.
The policymakers in China have made clear expressions
regarding their concern of preserving their sovereignty as a
country. The aspect of sovereignty has been deeply rooted in the
modern history of China, and is significantly defined based on
territorial integrity, domestic, as well as foreign autonomy of
policymaking, particular the way of maintaining the hegemony
of the Chinese Communist Party (CPC) and the privileged
position in the society of China (Bjørkum, 2005). In addition,
China expresses the concerns relating to equity within the
international circle, which makes the country argue in favor of
differentiation of the responsibilities among the developing and
developed nations with regards to recognition of their
substantial varying contributions towards climate change and
verification of the capabilities of the reduction of the emissions
(Bjørkum, 2005).
From a historical perspective, Chinese negotiators have
constantly asserted that their country has minimally contributed
to climate change. Although China’s annual emissions measured
on absolute terms are highest across the globe, the country
remains one of the minor emitters based on per capital terms,
which ranks the country 67th globally. Developed countries,
such as United States are associated with emission of large

amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases
compared to their population sizes. For instance, on average, a
Chinese citizen contributes only 4.7 metric tons of carbon
dioxide every year, compared to an average European and an
average North American who produce 8.7 tons and 19 tons of
carbon dioxide respectively (Bjørkum, 2005).
Chinese negotiators have constantly argued that more than
30 percent of the emissions perpetrated by their country is
associated with production of goods that are exported to such
developed countries as United States. There is also an argument
that most of the industrial processes that are environmentally
harmful in China are outsourced to the country. For this reason,
the equity basis demand from China indicates that there is no
clarity regarding why China should have an obligation of
reducing its emissions (Wiener, 2007). For this reason, because
the already developed countries contributed to large amounts of
emissions when they were undergoing industrialization, Chinese
policymakers are of the opinion that China should be granted
equal right so that it can engage in emission production in
pursuit of economic growth and development.
The other concern to China relates to its image among
policymakers and publics from foreign nations. There is
increased desire in China that the country is not perceived as a
threat to effective governance of transnational issues and stable
international order (Bjørkum, 2005). As a result, the Chinese
leaders are determined to evade any foreign entanglements that
may compromise the capability of the country towards
continued improvement of the living standards of its citizens.
Therefore, China greatly believes that it will remain to be a
responsible upholder of multilateralism and a cooperative
partner. The country has taken bold steps towards reassuring the
foreign community that it is committed in maintaining its
“peaceful rise” policy through its numerous collaboration with
numerous international institutions (Engels, 2018). To this end,
the country’s adherence to different environmental agreements
is a good indication of the serous commitments made by the

country towards alleviation of climate change as a global
epidemic.
Conclusion
China’s position in international negotiations on climate change
among the foreign policymakers and publics has been a point of
focus in the recent past. intergovernmental governance has
greatly contributed to development of various dimensions of
climate change governance. From the concerns presented in this
paper, it is clear that China has made significant strides towards
realization of a better global environment through its
involvement in international agreements and negotiations that
seek to alleviate the current state of climate change perpetrated
by resource depletion and environmental degradation. Although
some foreign policymakers and publics have claimed that China
is reluctant to join the rest of the world in reducing emission of
carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, it is clear that the
country has taken significant measures against climate change,
because the country acknowledges that negative impact of
climate change will affect the Chinese society, just like the
global society (Wiener, 2007). Notably, the country has been
wary about maintaining its economic position and promotion of
the living standards of its citizens, and has thus taken
environmental safety measures that do not jeopardize the
economic and social security of its citizens.

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