Commentary
As with many other nations these days, a tension exists in China between climate and pollution considerations on the one hand and the desire for economic growth on the other. Though Beijing has assured the international community any number of times that it sincerely aims to decrease pollution and cut back on emissions of greenhouse gases, its actions have spoken louder than its words and show that China’s leadership has prioritized growth, and with the heavy use of coal no less.
When it comes to climate and pollution, Beijing has said all the right things. In November 2021, Chinese leader Xi Jinping with considerable fanfare assured the United Nations (U.N.) that his country would reach complete carbon neutrality by 2060. At the same time, he pledged that China would significantly reduce coal consumption by 2026–30, though he failed to quantify exactly what he considered significant. His assurances meant a lot to those battling climate change because China is the single biggest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world, accounting for more than one-quarter of all global emissions, roughly twice the amount from the second largest emitter, the United States….