ABSTRACT
China has been a reluctant actor domestically and internationally in talks on mitigation and adaptation to climate change. The Chinese authorities have for decades promoted economic growth that has resulted in China becoming one of the top carbon emitting states in the world. Decades of growing population and economic growth have resulted in greater energy demand and devastating environmental impact. Worries about future economic decline, due to scarcity of energy and increasing costs for pollution and human insecurity, have led the Chinese Communist Party (CCCP) to stress the necessity of clean technology for economic growth and improved human security. China is today an important actor within the UNFCCC and has demonstrated an interest in becoming a leading global actor regarding low-carbon technology. Domestically, Chinese authorities have developed a strategy of low-carbon industries and closure of inefficient factories and coal-fired power plants, introducing national carbon emissions trading schemes. This chapter finds that it is still too soon to tell whether the Chinese authorities will succeed in this new approach to improve its devastated environment and transform the country into a green-actor for economic growth.
