2022-23 - NSDA - 2 - China Envronment Vs Growth

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LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATE RESEARCH SERIES

Vol. 33 November/December 2022 No. 2
RESOLVED: THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA OUGHT TO PRIORITIZE

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION OVER ECONOMIC GROWTH.
China’s economic growth over the past five decades has led the world, averaging over 9 percent per year (World
Bank, https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/china/overview). This remarkable achievement has resulted in lifting
more than 800 million people out of poverty. Given its current growth rate, by 2028 China will replace the United
States as the world’s largest economy (Centre for Economics and Business Research, Mar. 26, 2020,
https://www.bbc.com/ news/world-asia-china-55454146).
But China’s remarkable rate of economic growth has created serious environmental externalities, including air
pollution, water pollution, loss of biodiversity, and dramatic increases in carbon dioxide emissions. BBC News
summarizes the environmental results of China’s prioritization of economic growth:
China has 16 of the world's 20 most polluted cities and according to Chinese government
sources, about a fifth of the urban Chinese population breathe heavily polluted air. Many places
are polluted with fumes from high-sulphur coal and leaded gasoline. Only a third of the 340
cities that are monitored meet China's own pollution standards. The rapidly growing economy
and the greater urbanisation of the population (urban dwellers use two and a half times the
energy of rural dwellers) has left the country chronically short of energy. With the CPC set on a
policy of economic growth to maintain social order, the Chinese have little choice but to develop
energy production as cheaply and as quickly as possible. Coal burning power stations are
relatively cheap and quick to build. 70 per cent of China's energy comes from coal. However,
the problem with burning coal is the huge environmental damage from C02 emissions both
within China and globally. (Environmental Problems, Jan. 24, 2022,
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z6q xvk7/revision/7)
It is also true, however, that China has become a world leader in supporting the transition to renewable energy.
Yujie Xue, staff writer for the South China Morning Post, describes China’s new emphasis on green energy:
China will continue to be the global leader in renewable energy capacity growth over the
next five years, despite phasing out subsidies and the country's heavy reliance on coal,
analysts say. The global renewable energy sector saw strong growth in the past two years, with
new generation capacity reaching nearly 280 gigawatts in 2020, about 45 per cent more than in
2019, marking the highest year-on-year increase since 1999, the International Energy Agency
(IEA) said. Driven by stronger policy support and ambitious climate targets, global renewable
electricity capacity is forecast to increase by more than 60 per cent between 2020 and 2026,
reaching more than 4,800GW. Renewables will account for 90 per cent of new power capacity
expansion in 2022, according to the IEA. Development of photovoltaic solar technology will
also continue to break records, with annual additions reaching 162GW by 2022 - almost 50 per
cent higher than in 2019. (Jan. 3, 2022, Nexis Uni)
The role of China’s new emphasis on renewable energy production will create some interesting strategic choices
for debaters. Affirmative teams will likely claim that China has properly prioritized environmental protection over
economic growth, as demonstrated by its new focus on green energy development. Yet negative teams can argue
that China’s new focus on green growth proves that economic growth can be pursued simultaneously with
environmental protection.
ANALYSIS OF THE TOPIC

Debaters will need to carefully consider the wording of the resolution: “Resolved: The People’s Republic of China
ought to prioritize environmental protection over economic growth.”
Since the resolution uses “ought to prioritize” as its evaluative term, it fails to specify a specific core value. In this
case, as with many Lincoln Douglas resolutions, the selection of a core value is left to the debaters themselves as
they design their affirmative and negative cases. On this topic, the core value could be life, safety, or the common
good, among others.
What is the significance of the term “The People’s Republic of China?” This is the official name for the
government of China on the mainland, with its capital in Beijing. The People’s Republic of China has certainly
declared that there is no other China. But the government on the island of Taiwan continues to use the name,
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Republic of China. The wording of the resolution establishes that we are talking about the country that is located on
mainland China.
What is meant by “prioritize”? The Cambridge Dictionary defines it in the following way: “to decide which of a
group of things are the most important so that you can deal with them first” (https://dictionary.cambridge.
org/us/dictionary/english/prioritize). Of course the “group of things,” as specified in the resolution, includes just the
two: “environmental protection” and “economic growth.” The question then is whether “environmental protection” is
the “most important” and should be dealt with before dealing with “economic growth.”
What is meant by “environmental protection”? The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
defines this term as follows: “Environmental protection refers to any activity to maintain or restore the quality of
environmental media through preventing the emission of pollutants or reducing the presence of polluting substances
in environmental media. It may consist of: (a) changes in characteristics of goods and services, (b) changes in
consumption patterns, (c) changes in production techniques, (d) treatment or disposal of residuals in separate
environmental protection facilities, (e) recycling, and (f) prevention of degradation of the landscape and ecosystems”
(https://stats.oecd.org/glossary/detail.asp?ID=836)
What is meant by “economic growth?” Investopia defines this term in the following way: “Economic growth is an
increase in the production of goods and services in an economy. Increases in capital goods, labor force, technology,
and human capital can all contribute to economic growth. Economic growth is commonly measured in terms of the
increase in aggregated market value of additional goods and services produced, using estimates such as GDP”
(https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/economicgrowth.asp).
AFFIRMATIVE STRATEGIES
A number of good strategies are available for affirmative debaters. The first strategy focuses directly on the role
of China in climate change. The case establishes that economic growth in China is primarily responsible for the
carbon dioxide emissions that are driving climate change. Martina Ignini, a Hong Kong-based analyst with Earth.Org,
writes the following:
With an ever-increasing population, the demand for electricity has grown with no respite,
leading to even more coal-burning and worsened air standards. Furthermore, despite pledging
to reach net zero emissions before 2060, the country remains by far the world’s largest
producer and consumer of coal, which alone covers 60% of its electricity demand. In an effort to
restore the economy to pre-pandemic levels and curb the energy crisis sparked by the
exponential rise in industrial activities the country experienced in 2021, the Chinese government
ordered factories to increase their production capacity and built more than triple the amount of
new coal power capacity as the rest of the world combined. Unsurprisingly, CO2 emissions in
the same year almost reached 12 billion tonnes, accounting for 33% of the global total. (Top 5
Environmental Issues in China in 2022, June 23, 2022, https://earth.org/environmental-issues-
in-china/)
This first case also explains why China should not complacently wait for developed countries to take action. The
key answer to that argument is that climate change impacts China in ways that it cannot ignore. Lindsay Maizland,
analyst with the Council on Foreign Relations, describes these China-specific impacts:
China’s average temperature and sea levels have risen faster than the global average,
according to a 2020 report from China’s National Climate Center. Some of China’s coastal
cities, such as Shanghai, could be submerged if the global average temperature continues to
rise. An estimated forty-three million people in China live on land that could be underwater by
the end of the century if the global average temperature rises by 2°C. Additionally, experts
predict that China will experience more frequent extreme weather events, such as heavy
rainfall. Every year, natural disasters kill hundreds of Chinese people and destroy millions of
acres of crops. As temperatures rise, China’s glaciers will continue to melt at an alarming rate,
which will likely lead to more devastating floods. Extreme heat events and droughts will also
become more common. (China’s Fight Against Climate Change and Environmental
Degradation, May 19, 2021, https://www.cfr. org/backgrounder/china-climate-change-policies-
environmental-degradation)
The second affirmative case argues that environmental protection should be prioritized over economic growth
because it provides the precondition for future growth. By prioritizing the development of renewable energy, China
can change the current destructive growth pattern into environment-friendly green growth. This case argues that this
is actually the path that the Chinese government is currently choosing. Yu Hai, deputy director of China’s Research
Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, describes the priority now being given to environmental
protection:
For many years, Chinas development of an ecological civilization has been based on its
adherence to the leadership of the Communist Party of China in ecological protection, the Xi
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Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, the principles of putting people first, the path of
green development, the strictest regulations and most sophisticated laws in environmental
protection, the protection and systematic governance of mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands,
lakes and grasslands as a whole, and the cooperation with other countries in building ecological
civilization globally. All of this is valuable to Chinas ecological civilization endeavors and
Beautiful China campaign. (Daily News, Sept. 24, 2022, Nexis Uni)
The final affirmative case focuses primarily on the air and water pollution byproducts of China’s economic growth.
Paul Peng, vice president of S&P Global, describes what happens when economic growth is prioritized over
environmental protection:
After a nearly two decades of fast economic growth, China has achieved huge success in
growing its economy and generating wealth for its citizens. However, this success comes at a
large cost - a deteriorating environment. Air pollution and water pollution are particularly serious
in the economically developed North and East regions. The government has been addressing
pollution issues for some time, but when economic growth and environmental protection cannot
be achieved simultaneously, the former has superseded the latter. (A Delicate Balance: China’s
Economic Growth Versus Its Deteriorating Environment, Nov. 23, 2017, https://ihsmarkit.com/
research-analysis/china-growth-versus-environment.html)
NEGATIVE STRATEGIES
There are also a number of excellent strategies available to negative debaters on this topic. The first negative
strategy argues that there is no reason to prioritize environmental protection over economic growth because both can
pursued simultaneously. Keith Johnson, deputy editor of Foreign Policy, shows that recent trends in China show that
the environment has become cleaner while the economy continues to grow:
China posted an official growth rate of 6.9 percent last year, yet saw energy-sector
emissions fall by 1.5 percent. That is a dramatic change for China, whose nearly four-decade
economic explosion featured double-digit growth rates and double-digit increases in emissions.
“The fact that emissions have actually stalled and may even decline, even as the economy
continues to grow, is a very exciting trend,” said Jason Bordoff, a former energy and climate
advisor to the Obama administration and the founding director of Columbia University’s Center
on Global Energy Policy. He linked the progress to a steady, decades-long improvement in
energy intensity in the world’s economies, meaning it takes less energy every year to produce a
dollar’s worth of economic output. Indeed, energy intensity in recent years is declining much
faster than in the two previous decades, according to the World Bank, fruit of efficiency gains in
manufacturing, transportation, and power generation. (Mar. 16, 2016,
https://foreignpolicy.com/2016/03/16/turns-out-economic-growth-doesnt-mean-destroying-the-
planet/)
The second negative case argues that China has rightly prioritized poverty reduction with the incredible result of
bringing 800 million people out of poverty over recent decades. This case also establishes that economic growth
must be given priority in order to secure the necessary funding to pursue environmental protection. The following
report from the World Bank explains why this is true:
Decarbonization will require significant investments in a massive green infrastructure and
technology scaleup. Specifically, our sectoral models suggest that China would need a total of
about US$14 trillion in additional investments from now until 2060 for the power and transport
sectors alone, equivalent to 0.97 percent of GDP during that period (see Table O.2).1 To avoid
locking-in carbon intensive assets and meet China’s NDC targets, a large part of these
investments would need to be frontloaded, requiring about US$2.1 trillion (equivalent to roughly
1.1 percent of GDP) in the next decade. (China Country Climate and Development Report, Oct.
12, 2022, pp. 5-6, https://reliefweb.int/report/china/country-climate-and-development-report-
ccdr-china-enzh)
The final negative case provides an answer to affirmative cases focused on climate change. This case makes
two important claims: (1) Justice requires that developed countries have the primary responsibility for addressing
climate change; and (2) China is more than doing its part by supporting a worldwide movement toward renewable
energy. Yu Zirong, vice president of the Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation in the Chinese
Ministry of Commerce
With the country's economy taking off, China's renewable energy industry has made
remarkable achievements that offer strong support for its green and low-carbon energy
transition domestically, as well as in other developing countries through foreign assistance.
Through multilateral channels, under the framework of the China South-South Climate
Cooperation Fund, the country continues to organize training for officials and technicians of
developing countries, while providing photovoltaic equipment for generating power. Green
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energy assistance has also been enhanced bilaterally, such as the building of a photovoltaic
system with a total installed capacity of 1 megawatt in Nepal, and a 50-MW solar power plant in
Garissa, Kenya, the largest photovoltaic power station in East Africa. China's rapidly iterating
energy technologies and economies of scale have greatly reduced the cost of renewable
energy utilization; as the development and commercial cooperation scales up, more developing
countries can share the benefits of China's renewable energy development. (China Daily,
Oct.18, 2021, Nexis Uni)
A FEW WORDS ABOUT THE PROPER USE OF BAYLOR BRIEFS IN LD DEBATE

The affirmative and negative cases in Lincoln-Douglas debate must be presented in only a few minutes. Most
successful LD debaters won’t use more than ten or twelve short quotations in the whole debate. Most of the briefs
offered in our LD Debate Research Series are much longer – and present much more evidence – than could ever be
presented in a single debate. You should consider each brief as a resource and cafeteria of possibilities. Rarely in LD
debate would you ever read more than one or two short pieces of evidence under each heading. In addition,
debaters typically underline just the portion of a piece of evidence that they will read in their speech – hopefully the
part of the evidence that makes the point most clearly. This is an acceptable practice under NSDA rules of evidence
so long as the debater has the whole piece of evidence available for viewing (upon request) by the other debater
and/or the judge(s).
Why does Baylor Briefs, then, sometimes provide several long pieces of evidence? We want to give you
choices, to show you the whole context of the evidence, and also to make backup evidence available to you. You
should make the arguments your own by choosing only the arguments and evidence that makes the most sense to
you.
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AFFIRMATIVE CASE #1: GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE

The thesis of this case is that protecting the lives of its citizens is the primary responsibility of any government. At
present, the greatest threat to human life comes from global climate change. This case will establish that China is both
the greatest driver of climate change and the country most impacted by climate change. Given its past years of strong
economic growth and its high savings rate, China now has the resources and the opportunity to prioritize action against
climate change.
OBSERVATIONS:
I. SAFETY IS THE MOST FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN VALUE.
[See the Safety Brief in The Value Debate Handbook]
World Health Organization Conference on Injury Prevention and Control, JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN
MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, July 17, 2002. Retrieved October 11, 2022 from
http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/288/3/305
Safety is a fundamental right. It is essential for the attainment of health, peace, justice, and well
being.
II. MINIMIZING THREATS TO THE ENVIRONMENT IS THE CRITERION FOR DETERMINING SAFETY.
Dinah Shelton, (Prof., Law, George Washington U.), OUR PLANET: THE MAGAZINE OF THE UNITED
NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAM, Dec. 2010, p. 20.
Neither economic nor social development is possible over the long term without environmental
protection that assures a healthy and sustained natural resource base, because all humankind depends
upon the Earth’s living and non-living resources. Human rights and economic development cannot be
secured when the environment is degraded, threatening safe water, health, adequate food and housing –
and life itself.
CONTENTIONS:
I. CHINA SHOULD GIVE TOP PRIORITY TO PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT FROM THE IMPACT OF
CLIMATE CHANGE.
A. CLIMATE CHANGE IS AN EXISTENTIAL THREAT.
Richard Schwartz & Dan Brook, (Prof., Emeritus, College of Staten Island/Prof., Sociology, San Jose State
U.), CLIMATE CHANGE: AN EXISTENTIAL THREAT TO HUMANITY AND HOW WE CAN SURVIVE,
May 23, 2022. Retrieved Oct. 11, 2022 from https://www.nexiawellness.com/discover/holistic-wellness-
alternative-health/climate-change-an-existential-threat-to-humanity-and-how-we-can-survive/
Our climate crisis is the biggest social, political economic and environmental problem facing our
planet and its inhabitants, affecting every country and every species, mostly in negative ways. Climate
change refers to the increasing average surface temperature of the Earth’s air and water, and its various
environmental effects.
Richard Schwartz & Dan Brook, (Prof., Emeritus, College of Staten Island/Prof., Sociology, San Jose State
U.), CLIMATE CHANGE: AN EXISTENTIAL THREAT TO HUMANITY AND HOW WE CAN SURVIVE,
May 23, 2022. Retrieved Oct. 11, 2022 from https://www.nexiawellness.com/discover/holistic-wellness-
alternative-health/climate-change-an-existential-threat-to-humanity-and-how-we-can-survive/
“Right now, we are facing a man-made disaster of global scale,” says David Attenborough. “Our
greatest threat in thousands of years. Climate change. If we don’t take action, the collapse of our
civilizations and the extinction of much of the natural world is on the horizon.”
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Bob Berwyn, (Staff, Inside Climate News), UNCHECKED GLOBAL WARMING COULD COLLAPSE
WHOLE ECOSYSTEMS, MAYBE WITHIN TEN YEARS, Apr. 8, 2020. Retrieved Oct. 11, 2022 from
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/08042020/global-warming-ecosystem-biodiversity-rising-heat-species/
Global warming is about to tear big holes into Earth’s delicate web of life, pushing temperatures
beyond the tolerance of thousands of animals at the same time. As some key species go extinct, entire
ecosystems like coral reefs and forests will crumble, and some will collapse abruptly, starting as soon as
this decade, a new study in the journal Nature warns. Many scientists see recent climate-related mass
die-offs, including the coral bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef and widespread seabird and marine
mammal mortality in the Northeastern Pacific linked to a marine heat wave, as warning signs of
impending biodiversity collapse, said lead author Alex Pigot, a biodiversity researcher at University
College, London. The new study shows that nowhere on Earth will escape the impacts.
B. CHINA IS CURRENTLY THE GREATEST DRIVER OF CLIMATE CHANGE.
Lindsay Maizland, (Analyst, Council on Foreign Relations), CHINA’S FIGHT AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
AND ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION, May 19, 2021. Retrieved Oct. 10, 2022 from
https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/china-climate-change-policies-environmental-degradation
China’s economic rise—national gross domestic product (GDP) grew 10 percent on average each
year for more than a decade—has greatly accelerated its emissions. In the past ten years, China has
emitted more greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, per year than
any other country in the world. It surpassed the United States as the top emitter in 2005, according to
Climate Watch.
World Bank, COUNTRY CLIMATE AND DEVELOPMENT REPORT (CCDR) FOR CHINA, Oct. 12, 2022.
Retrieved Oct. 13, 2022 from https://reliefweb.int/report/china/country-climate-and-development-report-
ccdr-china-enzh
Without China successfully transitioning to a low-carbon economy, achieving global climate goals will
be impossible. China emits 27 percent of global carbon dioxide and a third of the world’s greenhouse
gases. This transition will require a massive shift in resources, innovation, and new technologies to
enhance energy efficiency and resource productivity.
Coal, which makes up nearly two-thirds of China’s energy consumption, is largely to blame. The
country is the world’s largest coal producer and accounts for about half of coal consumed globally. The
government banned the construction of new coal-fired power plants in 2016, and coal use appeared to
decline. However, when the ban expired in 2018, construction of new plants ramped up again. In 2020,
China built over three times more new coal-power capacity than the rest of the world combined,
according to Global Energy Monitor and the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air.
C. CHINA IS THE COUNTRY MOST IMPACTED BY CLIMATE CHANGE.
Yuan Ye, (Reporter, Sixth Tone), IPCC WARNS CHINA WILL BE HIT HARD BY CLIMATE CHANGE, Mar.
3, 2022. Retrieved Oct. 11, 2022 from https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1009809/ipcc-warns-china-will-be-
hit-hard-by-climate-change
China will be among the countries hardest hit by global warming and needs to do more to adapt to
mounting climate hazards, according to a new report published this week by the United Nations’
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Like many other Asian countries, China will need to
find solutions to water and food insecurity, poverty and inequality, and more extreme weather events,
according to the report, which is the second to come out as part of the IPCC’s sixth assessment cycle.
Without adaptation, China will suffer the world’s biggest economic losses as a result of rising sea levels
and the resulting floods, a modeling study cited in the report estimates. China’s food security will also be
threatened, as a warming climate is expected to affect yields of wheat, maize, rice, and fish.
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China’s average temperature and sea levels have risen faster than the global average, according to
a 2020 report from China’s National Climate Center. Some of China’s coastal cities, such as Shanghai,
could be submerged if the global average temperature continues to rise. An estimated forty-three million
people in China live on land that could be underwater by the end of the century if the global average
temperature rises by 2°C. Additionally, experts predict that China will experience more frequent extreme
weather events, such as heavy rainfall. Every year, natural disasters kill hundreds of Chinese people and
destroy millions of acres of crops. As temperatures rise, China’s glaciers will continue to melt at an
alarming rate, which will likely lead to more devastating floods. Extreme heat events and droughts will
also become more common.
Steven Bernard, (Staff), FINANCIAL TIMES, June 14, 2021. Retrieved Oct. 10, 2022 from Nexis Uni.
Trillions of dollars of economic activity along China's east coast, including $974bn in Shanghai alone,
are exposed to oceans rising as a result of climate change this century, according to Financial Times
analysis of unpublished data. The economic might of Shanghai, the leading Chinese financial centre built
between the Yangtze River estuary and Hangzhou Bay, is most exposed to a rise in sea levels, with an
estimated $973.7bn of 2019 gross domestic product at risk.
II. PRIORITIZING ECONOMIC GROWTH MAKES IT IMPOSSIBLE TO ADDRESS THE THREAT FROM CLIMATE
CHANGE.
A. CHINA’S CONTINUED BUILDING OF COAL PLANTS DRIVES CLIMATE CHANGE.
Alan Dupont, (Nonresident Fellow, Lowy Institute), THE AUSTRALIAN, Nov. 12, 2021. Retrieved Oct. 10,
2022 from Nexis Uni.
Last year China built more than three times as much new coal power capacity as all other countries
in the world combined and plans to add another 43 new coal-fired power plants. The inconvenient truth is
that unless China can be persuaded or pressured to reverse course, we are all going to be living in a
much hotter world.
Yujie Xue, (Staff), SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST, Jan. 3, 2022. Retrieved Oct. 7, 2022 from Nexis Uni.
For now, China continues to rely heavily on coal for power generation, making it the world's largest
emitter of greenhouse gases. The country has faced severe power shortages since September resulting
from a coal shortage and inflexible electricity prices. The central government has ordered power
companies to secure winter power at any cost. Coal is expected to remain the mainstay power source in
China to maintain energy security, government officials said at the central economic work conference in
Beijing in December.
B. CHINA’S BELT AND ROAD INITIATIVE HAS A MAJOR CLIMATE IMPACT.
Internationally, China is the largest financier of fossil fuel infrastructure. Through its massive Belt and
Road Initiative (BRI), China has built or is planning to build hundreds of coal-fired power plants in
countries around the world. More than 60 percent of BRI-specific energy financing has gone toward
nonrenewable resources. Greenhouse gas emissions in more than a dozen BRI countries have soared.
Researchers found in 2019 that BRI could drive the global average temperature to increase by 2.7°C,
significantly higher than the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C.
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III. SOLUTIONS ARE AVAILABLE IF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION IS GIVEN PRIORITY.

A. CHINA HAS THE MEANS TO PRIORITIZE CLIMATE ACTION.
ccdr-china-enzh
Modelling conducted for the report indicate that while China’s transition to carbon neutrality would be
challenging, long-run economic costs would remain manageable. However, there will be job losses in
emission intensive sectors like the coal industry. To address this, the report provides recommendations
on a just transition to a low-carbon economy. This could be done through support to poor households in
the face of higher energy prices, by training and reskilling workers from the fossil fuel sector and
providing targeted assistance to the most affected local communities.
World Bank, CHINA COUNTRY CLIMATE AND DEVELOPMENT REPORT, Oct. 12, 2022, p. 30. Report
download available at https://reliefweb.int/report/china/country-climate-and-development-report-ccdr-china-
enzh
At 47 percent of GDP, China has one of highest domestic savings rates in the world, providing ample
liquidity that can be mobilized to fund the expansion in green investments.
B. THE EXISTING LEVEL OF SUPPORT FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY GROWTH IS INSUFFICIENT.
President Xi Jinping has recognized climate change as one of his administration’s top concerns, and
Beijing has made a variety of pledges to address it. These include: achieving carbon neutrality by 2060;
reaching peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030; having renewable energy sources account for 25
percent of total energy consumption by 2030; reducing carbon intensity, or the amount of carbon emitted
per unit of GDP, by more than 65 percent by 2030; installing enough solar and wind power generators to
have a combined capacity of 1.2 billion kilowatts by 2030; and, boosting forest coverage by around six
billion cubic meters by 2030. However, experts say many of these goals aren’t ambitious enough and
point out that they don’t align with each other or with the Paris Agreement. For example, China would
need to reach peak emissions by 2025 at the latest to be in line with the Paris accord’s goal.
C. PILOT PROJECTS, IF ADOPTED NATIONALLY, COULD MAKE THE DIFFERENCE.
Moreover, Beijing and some provinces are incentivizing electric vehicle use. In 2020, 1.37 million so-
called new energy vehicles—which include battery electric, plug-in hybrid, and hydrogen fuel-cell
vehicles—were sold in China, a nearly 11 percent increase from the previous year. Still, experts point out
that the vast majority of electricity for such vehicles is produced with fossil fuels.
Halley Herbst, (JD Candidate), FORDHAM INTERNATIONAL LAW JOURNAL, May 2022, 956.
China should release a specific plan to institute a carbon cap effective during the 14th Five-Year-
Plan period. New studies conducted by the NRDC and North China Electric Power University state that
by "capping installed coal power capacity at 1,100 GW over the coming 14th Five-Year-Plan period,
China can both guarantee its energy security and remain on track to accomplish its dual '30-60' carbon
emissions targets." A Standing Committee member recently submitted a proposal to establish a carbon
cap in 2022, which currently remains under consideration by the National People's Congress. The
National People's Congress should accept this proposal immediately to better reform China's energy
consumption.
China's new environmental tax policy should be amended to include carbon dioxide on the list of
offending pollutants. This new tax system seeks to improve air and water quality from offending
pollutants such as sulfur dioxide and sulfite. Policymakers designed the policy to have such breadth to
even penalize offenses such as noise pollution. Therefore, as the world's heaviest emitter of carbon
dioxide, China should reconcile the tax's purpose of protecting environmental and human health from
harmful pollutants with carbon dioxide's deadly acceleration of climate change.
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AFFIRMATIVE CASE #2: ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION IS A PRECONDITION FOR

FUTURE ECONOMIC GROWTH
The thesis of this case is that China should prioritize environmental protection because that best facilitates future
economic growth. China has properly prioritized the switch to renewable energy out of a recognition that economic
growth cannot continue unless environmental threats are addressed. China has become a world leader in the
development of renewable energy products, thus avoiding the environmental externalities of future economic growth.
OBSERVATIONS:
I. COUNTRIES SHOULD GIVE PRIORITY TO THOSE ACTIONS THAT WILL BEST PROMOTE THE INTEREST
OF THEIR OWN CITIZENRY.
Fan Gang, (Dir., National Institute for Economic Research, Beijing), THE FUTURE OF GLOBALIZATION,
2008, p. 281.
For a developing country, it is important to identify clearly what are the true national interests, and
what are the risks associated with espousing a particular policy in that country’s particular conditions.
Policy makers need to listen to advice and suggestions from international organizations, foreign
governments, and multinationals, but they should always work according to their country’s own interests,
and decide on development priorities according to their country’s own conditions.
II. COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS SHOULD BE THE STANDARD USED BY COUNTRIES TO DECIDE WHAT IS IN
THEIR BEST INTEREST.
Michael Livermore, (Prof., Law, NYU School of Law), NEW YORK UNIVERSITY ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
JOURNAL, 2011, 149-150.
Cost-benefit analysis has become a widely practiced tool for improving government decisionmaking
throughout the developed world, but it also holds special potential in the developing context to add
quality, transparency, and efficiency to environmental, public health, and safety regulation.
Michael Livermore, (Prof., Law, NYU School of Law), NEW YORK UNIVERSITY ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
JOURNAL, 2011, 159.
Cost-benefit analysis can help many countries formulate environmental policy for the same reason
developed countries find it helpful - by providing a systematic mechanism to pull together information
about a policy choice and compare alternatives. But, there are reasons why cost-benefit analysis can
provide special advantages in the development context. First, and most obviously, developing countries
have less money to waste, and therefore mechanisms to ensure that regulations are delivering benefits
that justify their costs are especially important. The economic problems within the United States and
Europe that provided the political impetus for adoption of cost-benefit analysis are small compared to the
vastly larger economic difficulties faced by many developing countries. For these reasons, there is less
social wealth to be spent generally, and on environmental, public health, and safety protections
specifically.
CONTENTION:
I. PRIORITIZING ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION OFFERS MORE BENEFITS THAN HARMS.
A. PRIORITIZING THE RENEWABLE ENERGY SECTOR IS THE SUPERIOR ENGINE FOR FUTURE
ECONOMIC GROWTH.
Hou Liqiang, (Staff), CHINA DAILY, June 6, 2022. Retrieved Oct. 10, 2022 from Nexis Uni.
Wang Jinnan, head of the Chinese Academy of Environmental Planning, said the nation's
development has been increasingly green and low-carbon. Wang Jinnan, head of the Chinese Academy
of Environmental Planning, said that during 2013 to last year, energy consumption and carbon emissions
per unit of GDP fell by 16 percent and 22 percent respectively
Wen Sheng, (Staff), GLOBAL TIMES, Apr. 25, 2022. Retrieved Oct. 10, 2022 from Nexis Uni.
New technology industries like new energy vehicles, artificial intelligence, industrial robots and 5G-
powered mining, transportation, catering and entertaining endeavors will continue to provide a strong
source of economic growth. Technologies that help China to move closer to carbon neutrality will also
provide growth support.
11
Helen Mountford, (Analyst, World Resources Institute), AMERICA DOESN’T HAVE TO CHOOSE
BETWEEN THE ECONOMY AND THE CLIMATE, Mar. 6, 2017. Retrieved Oct. 11, 2022 from
https://www.wri.org/insights/america-doesnt-have-choose-between-economy-and-climate
Climate action can actively benefit the economy, according to new work from the New Climate
Economy. The key drivers of economic growth – resource efficiency, infrastructure investment and
innovation – can be harnessed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It’s a logical connection: a more
efficient economy is a more productive economy, and a more efficient economy also emits less carbon.
Hou Liqiang, (Staff), CHINA DAILY, Aug. 24, 2022. Retrieved Oct. 10, 2022 from Nexis Uni.
China's booming environmental protection industry is playing an increasingly important role in
boosting economic growth, as the country increases funding for its ecological endeavors, an official from
the Ministry of Ecology and Environment said on Tuesday. The industry, which accounted for 1.8 percent
of China's GDP in 2021, notched up total earnings of 2.18 trillion yuan ($320 billion) over the same
period, said Zou Shoumin, head of the ministry's department of science and finance, quoting data from
the China Association of Environmental Protection Industry. "As a strategic emerging industry, the
environmental protection industry has been a new source of national economic growth," said Zou,
pointing out that the sector's earnings grew by 11.8 percent from 2020 to 2021, which was 3.7
percentage points higher than China's overall GDP growth rate.
Khalid Taimur Akram, (Dir., Center for Global and Strategic Studies), CHINA DAILY, Sept. 25, 2021.
Retrieved Oct. 10, 2022 from Nexis Uni.
Many experts consider the environment and ecology to be integral to fostering economic growth, and
the fact that China has become a global leader in renewable and clean energy shows that it is committed
to championing environmental protection and preserving the ecology. The country has made remarkable
progress in energy transition over the past two decades, and its State Grid has become a global giant in
ultra-high voltage electricity transmission technology, enabling swift distribution of renewable energy.
Ouyang Shijia, (Staff), CHINA DAILY, Mar. 8, 2022. Retrieved Oct. 10, 2022 from Nexis Uni.
Liu Qiao, dean of the Guanghua School of Management at Peking University, highlighted the
importance of fostering green and low-carbon development, saying the investment in fields related to
reaching the carbon peak will create new economic growth points, help boost total-factor productivity and
maintain healthy and sustainable development. "Sectors such as carbon neutrality, re-industrialization or
the digitalization of the industrial sector, and new infrastructure will provide new growth momentum for
the Chinese economy to maintain a stable uptick in growth, which is on the way to switching to a new
development model underpinned by such new growth momentum," Liu said.
B. CHINESE LEADERS NOW RECOGNIZE THAT ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION MUST BE GIVEN
PRIORITY.
Khalid Taimur Akram, (Dir., Center for Global and Strategic Studies), CHINA DAILY, Sept. 25, 2021.
Under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, China acknowledges that climate change and
environmental degradation are threatening the economic prosperity and well-being of nations. To
neutralize that threat, China has devised an integrated policy framework to attain sustainability, by
making internal structural adjustments. And since global issues call for global cooperation and solutions,
China has been deepening cooperation with, as well as helping, other countries to meet the common
challenges.
Yu Hai, (Deputy Dir., Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization), DAILY NEWS,
Sept. 24, 2022. Retrieved Oct. 10, 2022 from Nexis Uni.
For many years, Chinas development of an ecological civilization has been based on its adherence
to the leadership of the Communist Party of China in ecological protection, the Xi Jinping Thought on
Ecological Civilization, the principles of putting people first, the path of green development, the strictest
regulations and most sophisticated laws in environmental protection, the protection and systematic
governance of mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes and grasslands as a whole, and the
cooperation with other countries in building ecological civilization globally. All of this is valuable to Chinas
ecological civilization endeavors and Beautiful China campaign.
12
Martina Ignini, (Analyst, Earth.Org based in Hong Kong & Team Member, UN Global Communication
Department), TOP 5 ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES IN CHINA IN 2022, June 23, 2022. Retrieved Oct. 11,
2022 from https://earth.org/environmental-issues-in-china/
Yet, despite the worrisome values recorded and no Chinese city meeting the WHO standards, air
quality in China has consistently improved in recent years. Since 2018, major cities have seen an overall
21% reduction in annual PM2.5 concentrations, and in 2021, the capital city of Beijing met its own air
pollution targets for the first time. President Xi Jinping argues that fighting pollution is one of his top
priorities, labelling this environmental issue as one of China’s ‘three tough battles’ – along with reducing
poverty and improving financial stability. The long-term strategy focuses primarily on carbon emission
intensity reduction through the primary use of non-fossil fuel energy.
PRETORIA NEWS, Mar. 23, 2022. Retrieved Oct. 10, 2022 from Nexis Uni.
Hence, the PRC has taken urgent and practical steps to deal with this through sound eco-
environmental sustainability and conservation policies and programmes. This has involved
environmental defence and the restoration of lakes based on the introduction of a red line for ecological
protection. In turn this has produced positive net results. For instance, the PRC has facilitated the
creation of 120 million hectares of arable land and created national parks or 11 800 protected areas that
comprise 18% of the PRC’s land mass.
By the end of 2020, China had signed about 150 cooperation documents for environmental
protection with more than 60 countries and international and regional organizations, as well as signed or
joined more than 50 international conventions and protocols related to the ecological environment.
The earth is the only place where all people call it home, and building a green home is a shared goal
of nations. China will hold fast to the ecological civilization concept and multilateralism, strive to promote
the development of a fair, reasonable and win-win global environmental governance system, join hands
with other countries to build a shared future for all life on earth and a clean and beautiful world, and
contribute Chinas wisdom and plan to global environmental governance.
C. FAILURE TO PRIORITIZE THE ENVIRONMENT UNDERMINES FUTURE ECONOMIC GROWTH.
ccdr-china-enzh
The impacts of climate change threaten China’s densely populated and economically critical low-
lying coastal cities, which are home to an estimated one-fifth of China’s population and contribute a third
of its GDP. China already experiences frequent coastal flooding, storm surges, costal erosion, and
saltwater intrusion. Unabated climate change could lead to estimated GDP losses of between 0.5 and
2.3 percent as early as 2030, according to the report.
D. FAILURE TO PRIORITIZE THE ENVIRONMENT HURTS THE POOR.
enzh
Rising sea levels and risks related to coastal flooding, storm surges, and coastal erosion threaten
China’s densely populated low-elevation coastal cities, which account for a fifth of China’s population
and a third of its gross domestic product (GDP). Meanwhile, interior provinces in northern and western
China are exposed to more frequent and extreme heat waves and droughts which intensify water
security risks and impact agriculture—a major source of income, especially among China’s rural poor. No
longer threats in a distant future, these risks are already starting to materialize today, as evidenced by
recent floods and droughts that have devastated large parts of the country.
13
AFFIRMATIVE CASE #3: PRESERVING HUMAN LIFE

The thesis of this case is that China should prioritize environmental protection in order to protect the lives of
Chinese citizens. The rapid pace of economic growth in China has caused devastating air and water pollution, resulting
in the loss of millions of lives. The current state of air and water pollution leave the government little alternative to giving
top priority to the protection of the environment.
OBSERVATIONS:
I. PRESERVING HUMAN LIFE SHOULD BE REGARDED AS THE ULTIMATE VALUE.
[See the Sanctity of Life brief in The Value Debate Handbook]
Simone Roach, (Ph.D.), THE HUMAN ACT OF CARING, 1992, 23.
Human life is the precondition for all values attributed to human persons. Human life has been
referred to as "an almost absolute value in history." The need to protect human life and the more
stringent imperative of do not kill are regarded as basic, constitutive elements of the moral life of any
society. The relationships embodied in and shaped by humans rest on the inviolability of human life. The
inestimable value of human life is based on the consideration that each person has been raised to a
sublime dignity.
II. A LIVABLE ENVIRONMENT IS A PRECONDITION FOR PRESERVING HUMAN LIFE.
Council of Europe, HUMAN RIGHTS FOR THE PLANET, Dec. 29, 2020. Retrieved Oct. 11, 2022 from
https://www.coe.int/en/web/portal/concept-human-rights-for-the-planet
Clean environment is a precondition to the enjoyment of human rights: the full enjoyment of
everyone’s rights to life, health, quality private and family life or home, depends on unpolluted air, healthy
ecosystems and their benefits to people.
Sophie De Coninck, (Staff, UNEP), MAINSTREAMING POVERTY-ENVIRONMENT LINKAGES INTO
DEVELOPMENT PLANNING: A HANDBOOK FOR PRACTITIONERS, Mar. 2009, 1.
Intact, functioning ecosystems provide services—such as the provision of food, water, fuel and fibre,
as well as regulation of climate—on which nations and people rely to earn income from agriculture,
fishing, forestry, tourism and other activities. Sustainable use of these ecosystem services and natural
resource assets is increasingly recognized as a key factor in enduring economic development and
improvement in human welfare, and as a necessary condition for achieving the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs).
Donald VanDeVeer, (Prof., Economic Philosophy, North Carolina State U.), THE ENVIRONMENTAL
ETHICS & POLICY BOOK, 3rd Ed., 2003, xxviii.
Our massive tampering with the world's interdependent web of, life-coupled with the environmental
damage inflicted by deforestation, species loss, and climate change-could trigger widespread adverse
effects, including unpredictable collapses of critical biological systems whose interactions and dynamics
we only imperfectly understand.
CONTENTION:
I. CHINA’S PRIORITY ON ECONOMIC GROWTH CAUSES ENDURING DEATH AND SUFFERING.
A. ECONOMIC GROWTH HAS DESTROYED AIR QUALITY IN CHINA.
Paul Peng, (Vice President, S&P Global), A DELICATE BALANCE - CHINA'S ECONOMIC GROWTH
VERSUS ITS DETERIORATING ENVIRONMENT, Nov. 23, 2017. Retrieved Oct. 11, 2022 from
https://ihsmarkit.com/research-analysis/china-growth-versus-environment.html
After a nearly two decades of fast economic growth, China has achieved huge success in growing its
economy and generating wealth for its citizens. However, this success comes at a large cost - a
deteriorating environment. Air pollution and water pollution are particularly serious in the economically
developed North and East regions. The government has been addressing pollution issues for some time,
but when economic growth and environmental protection cannot be achieved simultaneously, the former
has superseded the latter.
14
According to the 2021 World Air Quality Report, out of 1,374 cities located in East Asia, 143 (or
about 11%) recorded annual average PM2.5 concentrations that are seven times greater than World
Health Organization (WHO) standards. All of them were located in China, with the town of Hotan in
southwestern Xinjiang experiencing the highest level of pollution in the country at about 101 µg/m³, over
20 times the WHO guideline value.
B. ECONOMIC GROWTH HAS DESTROYED WATER QUALITY IN CHINA.
Carolyn Gibson, (Analyst, Borgen Project), WATER POLLUTION IN CHINA IS THE COUNTRY’S WORST
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE, March 10, 2018. Retrieved Oct. 11, 2022 from https://borgenproject.org/water-
pollution-in-china/
Half of China’s population cannot access water that is safe for human consumption and two-thirds of
China’s rural population relies on tainted water. Water pollution in China is such a problem that there
could be “catastrophic consequences for future generations,” according to the World Bank. China’s water
supply has been contaminated by the dumping of toxic human and industrial waste. Pollution-induced
algae blooms cause the surface of China’s lakes to turn a bright green, but greater problems may lurk
beneath the surface; groundwater in 90 percent of China’s cities is contaminated.
Hal Brands, (Staff, Bloomberg News), CHINA IS RUNNING OUT OF WATER AND THAT’S SCARY FOR
ASIA, Dec. 29, 2021. Retrieved Oct. 11, 2022 from https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-12-
29/china-s-water-shortage-is-scary-for-india-thailand-vietnam
Thousands of rivers have disappeared, while industrialization and pollution have spoiled much of the
water that remains. By some estimates, 80% to 90% of China’s groundwater and half of its river water is
too dirty to drink; more than half of its groundwater and one-quarter of its river water cannot even be
used for industry or farming.
High on the list of environmental issues in China is water pollution. As much as 90% of the country’s
groundwater is contaminated by toxic human and industrial waste dumping, as well as farm fertilisers,
causing about 70% of rivers and lakes to be unsafe for human use. Nearly half of the population does
not have access to water that is safe for human consumption, while two-thirds of the rural population has
to rely on tainted water due to a lack of adequate systems to treat wastewater. Based on this, it is clear
that in China, the water you drink is as dangerous as the air you breathe.
Paul Harris, (Staff), HONG KONG FREE PRESS, July 10, 2022. Retrieved Oct. 10, 2022 from Nexis Uni.
Indeed, one of the most severe consequences of China’s economic rise has been the devastation of
its rivers, many of which are notoriously polluted by industrial, agricultural and municipal run-off – the
vast majority of it untreated – often making their waters unusable for any purpose. Elizabeth Economy’s
book on China’s environmental challenges is titled The River Runs Black for good reason.
C. ECONOMIC GROWTH HAS CREATED CRITICAL WATER SCARCITY IN CHINA.
Paul Harris, (Staff), HONG KONG FREE PRESS, July 10, 2022. Retrieved Oct. 10, 2022 from Nexis Uni.
China is not just choking its own rivers; it’s doing the same to those of other countries through
pollution, deforestation and development projects. It has exported its enthusiasm for dam construction,
and it is well established as the “pre-eminent global player in major dam projects.” As part of the Belt and
Road Initiative, it is building dams as far afield as Africa. Often the main beneficiary of such foreign dam
projects is China itself. Construction is profitably financed by Chinese banks, workers are brought in from
China, and for China-built dams in Southeast Asia, the resulting hydropower is often intended for export
to China.
Chen Hongbin, (Staff, ThinkChina), CHINA’S SERIOUS WATER WOES, Apr. 26, 2021. Retrieved Oct. 11,
2022 from Nexis Uni.
Water is scarce to begin with, and surface water is limited. Amid China's rapid economic
development, for a period it overlooked environmental protection, leading to the deteriorating quality of
river water and exacerbating the shortage of water resources.
15
D. MILLIONS OF CHINESE CITIZENS DIE EVERY YEAR BECAUSE OF ENVIRONMENTAL NEGLECT.

Air pollution contributes to an estimated 1.1 million premature deaths in China annually.
Epidemiological studies conducted since the 1980s suggest that poor air quality in northern Chinese
cities causes significant health complications, including respiratory, cardiovascular, and cerebrovascular
diseases. An estimated sixty thousand people in China die of illnesses caused by water pollution every
year.
Estimated to cause an average of 1.2 million premature deaths every year, China’s poor air quality is
primarily attributed to the rapid economic expansion the country experienced since 1979, which resulted
in a drastic increase in coal-powered industrial production and electricity demand, as well as an
exponential rise in private vehicles.
E. ENVIRONMENTAL NEGLECT UNDERMINES FUTURE ECONOMIC GROWTH IN CHINA.
Moreover, environmental issues cost the economy billions of dollars each year, with some recent
estimates putting the toll at up to 10 percent of GDP. The Ministry of Ecology and Environment
calculated the cost of pollution to be around 1.5 trillion RMB ($227 billion), or roughly 3.5 percent of
GDP, in 2010.
16
NEGATIVE CASE #1: NO NEED TO CHOOSE – GROWTH CAN COEXIST WITH

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
The thesis of this case is that China can have both economic growth and a cleaner environment. Chinese
leadership is demonstrating that the proper kind of economic growth can be pursued simultaneously with the protection
of the environment.
OBSERVATIONS:
I. THE COMMON GOOD SHOULD BE THE VALUE DETERMINING WHAT TAKES PRECEDENCE.
[See the “Common Good” Brief in The Value Debate Handbook]
Herbert Daughtry, (Staff, Brooklyn United for Innovative Local Development), AMICUS BRIEF 04-108,
KELO V. CITY OF NEW LONDON, 2004, 7.
It is not only the right, but the bound and solemn duty of a state, to advance the safety, happiness
and prosperity of its people, and to provide for its general welfare, by any and every act of legislation,
which it may deem to be conductive to its ends.
II. UTILITARIANISM IS THE STANDARD FOR DETERMINING THE COMMON GOOD.
Christina Hoff Sommers, (Prof., Philosophy, Clark U.), RIGHT AND WRONG: BASIC READINGS IN
ETHICS, 1986, 72.
According to Bentham's "principle of utility," actions are right when they increase happiness and
diminish misery, wrong when they have the opposite effect. By "utility" he means the property of
producing pleasure or happiness in conscious beings. Thus we should always do those acts that tend to
increase overall happiness.
CONTENTIONS:
I. CHINA PROPERLY GIVES EQUAL EMPHASIS TO ECONOMIC GROWTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION.
A. CHINA CONTINUES TO EXPERIENCE THE STRONGEST ECONOMIC GROWTH IN THE WORLD.
Graham Allison, (Prof., Government, Harvard U.), THE GREAT ECONOMIC RIVALRY: CHINA VS THE
U.S., Mar. 23, 2022. Retrieved Oct. 11, 2022 from https://www.belfercenter.org/publication/great-economic-
rivalry-china-vs-us
China has replaced the U.S. as the primary engine of global economic growth. Since the 2008
financial crisis, one-third of all growth in the world’s GDP has occurred in just one country: China. In
2020, China supplanted the U.S. as the home to the largest number of the most valuable global
companies on Fortune’s Global 500 for the first time. It has also rivaled the U.S. as the leading country in
attracting foreign investment and is neck and neck with the U.S. in gross R&D investments.
Dan Steinbock, (Dir., Difference Group), THE QUEST TO CONTAIN CHINA, AT THE RISK OF GLOBAL
DEPRESSION, Aug. 26, 2022. Retrieved Oct. 12, 2022 from https://www.chinausfocus.com/finance-
economy/the-quest-to-contain-china-at-the-risk-of-global-depression
China’s outward foreign direct investment (OFDI), aligned with the post-pandemic upswing,
displayed an uptick in growth, totaling $138 billion. China’s inward FDI hit $173 billion, up 20.2 percent
year on year. The robust double-digit growth is remarkable, due to the relatively high base in 2020.
China registered positive growth of 5.7 percent, even as global FDI plunged 34.7 percent. In the process,
Chinese engagement in the144 countries of the Belt and Road Initiative amounted to $59.5 billion.
Graham Allison, (Prof., Government, Harvard U.), THE GREAT ECONOMIC RIVALRY: CHINA VS THE
U.S., Mar. 23, 2022. Retrieved Oct. 11, 2022 from https://www.belfercenter.org/publication/great-economic-
rivalry-china-vs-us
China’s sustained “miracle economic growth” over the past four decades at an average rate four
times that of the U.S. has redefined the global economic order. When measured by the traditional
yardstick – market exchange rate – since 2000, China’s GDP has soared from $1.2 trillion to $17.7
trillion. On the current trajectory, it will overtake the U.S. within a decade. By the yardstick both the CIA
and the IMF judge to be the best metric for comparing national economies – purchasing power parity –
China has already surpassed the U.S. to become the world’s largest economy.
17
B. CHINA ALSO LEADS THE WORLD IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF RENEWABLE ENERGY

TECHNOLOGIES.
Yuan Jiahai, (Prof., Economics, North China Electric Power University), CHINA DAILY, Dec. 10, 2021.
China's leadership in renewable energy is fueling the global green transition. Official data showed
that the total renewable energy generating capacity in China had reached 1,002 gigawatts by the end of
October 2021, passing the milestone of 1,000 GW. This is a critical milestone for the green energy
transition in China, and good news for the global energy transition. Renewables now account for 43.5
percent of China's total generation capacity, up by 10.2 percentage points from 2015. Among the
renewables, the capacity of hydropower (including pumped-storage), wind, solar and biomass is 385
GW, 299 GW, 282 GW and 35.34 GW, respectively, by the end of October 2021, all of which rank the
first in the world.
China pledged to expand its share of renewable energy usage in the nation's energy consumption.
China currently stands as a well-established leader in renewable energy as the largest producer of solar
and wind energy, largest domestic investor in renewable energy, largest wind turbine manufacturer, and
owner of five out of six largest solar-module manufacturing corporations.
Miao Hong, (Dir., Sustainable Investment Program, World Resources Institute), CHINA DAILY, Feb. 18,
2022. Retrieved Oct. 7, 2022 from Nexis Uni.
Although China started a little later than developed countries, its achievements in the past decade
have attracted worldwide attention. China's installed capacity of renewable energy has remained the
world's largest for many consecutive years, accounting for 30 percent of the global market. Moreover,
China's renewable energy capacity has also underpinned the rapid growth of global installed capacity,
contributing to low-carbon transition globally. At the same time, renewable energy applications and
capacity in China have contributed to the rapid reduction in costs globally, making renewable energy
affordable and competitive enough to contribute to the low-carbon energy transition in China and the
world.
The implication is that the deployment of renewable is accelerating in China. It is expected that
during the 2021-25 period, the annual addition of wind and solar will reach 120 GW, then 140 GW during
2026-30, and 160 GW during 2031-35. With these, we can expect that the second 1,000 GW from
renewables will happen by 2028. In becoming the center of global renewable manufacturing, innovation
and industry services, China is also playing a big role in facilitating the global energy transition.
Zheng Xin, (Staff), CHINA DAILY, July 12, 2022. Retrieved Oct. 10, 2022 from Nexis Uni.
China's total installed capacity of renewable energy generation has increased by around 90 times
over the past 10 years, cementing its role as a global leader in renewable energy capacity growth. The
country's total installed capacity for renewable energy generation rose to 1.1 billion kilowatts during the
last 10 years, with generation capacity of hydropower, wind, solar and biomass ranking tops in the world,
according to the National Energy Administration. The combined installed capacity of wind and solar
power has reached 670 million kW, almost 90 times that in 2012, it said.
Zheng Xin, (Staff), CHINA DAILY, July 8, 2022. Retrieved Oct. 10, 2022 from Nexis Uni.
As part of its green energy transition, the government vows to generate 3.3 trillion kWh of electricity
from renewable energy by 2025, and its total renewable energy consumption will equal 1 billion metric
tons of standard coal by then. The increase in generated renewable energy will exceed 50 percent
during this period. The generation of wind and solar power will double, according to the National
Development and Reform Commission, China's top economic regulator.
18
C. CHINA HAS DEMONSTRATED THAT ECONOMIC GROWTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION DO

NOT COMPETE WITH EACH OTHER – THEY ARE BEST PURSUED SIMULTANEOUSLY.
Helen Mountford, (Analyst, World Resources Institute), AMERICA DOESN’T HAVE TO CHOOSE
BETWEEN THE ECONOMY AND THE CLIMATE, Mar. 6, 2017. Retrieved Oct. 11, 2022 from
https://www.wri.org/insights/america-doesnt-have-choose-between-economy-and-climate
For many years, we’ve heard that economic growth and environmental protection are in conflict.
However, there is growing and compelling evidence that this simply is not the case: A strong economy
and a healthy environment are not only complementary, but each depends on the other.
From 2013 to last year, China's GDP rose by 94 percent, while the number of cars nationwide grew
by 150 percent, [Wang Jinnan, head of the Chinese Academy of Environmental Planning] said. Wang,
also an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said that during this time, energy
consumption and carbon emissions per unit of GDP fell by 16 percent and 22 percent respectively.
Keith Johnson, (Deputy Editor), FOREIGN POLICY, Mar. 16, 2016. Retrieved Oct. 11, 2022 from
https://foreignpolicy.com/2016/03/16/turns-out-economic-growth-doesnt-mean-destroying-the-planet/
And China is both clamping down on dirty fuels like coal and rejigging its economic model away from
heavy industry and more toward services. China posted an official growth rate of 6.9 percent last year,
yet saw energy-sector emissions fall by 1.5 percent. That is a dramatic change for China, whose nearly
four-decade economic explosion featured double-digit growth rates and double-digit increases in
emissions. “The fact that emissions have actually stalled and may even decline, even as the economy
continues to grow, is a very exciting trend,” said Jason Bordoff, a former energy and climate advisor to
the Obama administration and the founding director of Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy
Policy. He linked the progress to a steady, decades-long improvement in energy intensity in the world’s
economies, meaning it takes less energy every year to produce a dollar’s worth of economic output.
Indeed, energy intensity in recent years is declining much faster than in the two previous decades,
according to the World Bank, fruit of efficiency gains in manufacturing, transportation, and power
generation.
Steve Cohen, (Prof., Public Affairs, Columbia U. & Former Dir., Columbia University’s Earth Institute),
ECONOMIC GROWTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY, Jan. 27, 2020. Retrieved Oct. 11,
2022 from https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2020/01/27/economic-growth-environmental-sustainability/
Environmental protection itself contributes to economic growth. Somebody makes and sells the air
pollution control technologies we put on power plants and motor vehicles. Somebody builds the sewage
and water treatment facilities. Just as someone makes money off of solar cells and windmills and
whoever invents the 1,000-mile high capacity battery that will power electric cars someday will become
very, very rich. And environmental amenities are worth money. The cleaner Hudson made the waterfront
more suitable for housing development.
D. CHINA HAS DEMONSTRATED THAT ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION SHOULD NOT BE
PRIORITIZED OVER ECONOMIC GROWTH.
Steve Cohen, (Prof., Public Affairs, Columbia U. & Former Dir., Columbia University’s Earth Institute),
ECONOMIC GROWTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY, Jan. 27, 2020. Retrieved Oct. 11,
2022 from https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2020/01/27/economic-growth-environmental-sustainability/
It is ironic that some environmentalists along with some climate deniers share the belief that we must
trade off economic growth and environmental protection. We can and must accomplish both. A reason
that we cannot abandon economic development is that most people in the developed world like the way
they live and will not give up their way of life. Asking them to do so dooms environmental advocates to
political marginalization and failure. Due to the internet, even very poor people in the developing world
see the way we live here, want it, and are demanding that their political regimes help them achieve their
dreams. The absence of economic development leads to political instability and the potential for
violence. Climate scientists often mention the impact of climate change on political instability and the
phenomenon of climate refugees is well documented. But the path to climate mitigation is not through
slower economic growth, but through economic growth that is steered toward environmental
sustainability and away from gratuitous environmental destruction.
19
PRETORIA NEWS, Mar. 23, 2022. Retrieved Oct. 10, 2022 from Nexis Uni.
Which lessons are imparted by the PRC for us in South Africa where the primary focus of our
policies and programs is on economic growth and employment creation? First, that economic growth
needs to be balanced with ecological protection and restoration. If we prioritize one at the expense of the
other there will be negative effects, as seen with the uncontrolled levels of urbanization, industrialization
and pollution. The pursuit of win-win in the economy and ecology is a necessary investment that must be
made by this generation for future generations. Second, the pursuit of harmony between nature and
humanity is a non-negotiable that cuts across political and ideological divides. Ordinary people would be
willing to make sacrifices if they saw their public leaders and political parties lead by example.
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, (Chair and President, Global Green Growth Institute), ECONOMIC GROWTH
CAN COMPLEMENT ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION, June 15, 2022. Retrieved Oct. 11, 2022 from
https://www.oecd.org/greengrowth/economic-growth-can-complement-environmental-conservation.htm
For many years one of the predominant conventional wisdoms in both business and policymaking
circles was that cutting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions necessitates a sacrifice in economic growth.
We now know, through the experiences of both developed and developing countries, that economic
growth can complement environmental conservation and transitioning to a low-carbon economy can go
hand-in-hand with increased access to economic opportunity and higher levels of well-being.
E. PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT REQUIRES LOTS OF MONEY, WHICH IS ANOTHER REASON
THAT GROWTH MUST BE GIVEN EQUAL EMPHASIS.
ccdr-china-enzh
“To reach net-zero emissions by 2060, the report estimates China needs between US$14-17 trillion
in additional investments for green infrastructure and technology in the power and transport sectors
alone,” said IFC’s Regional Vice President for Asia and the Pacific, Ruth Horowitz. “Given the immense
price tag, public investments won’t be sufficient to meet these needs, so China needs policy and
regulatory reforms to spur the private sector and fully tap the potential for investment and innovation.”
Edward White, (Staff), AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW, Nov. 17, 2021. Retrieved Oct. 10, 2022 from
Nexis Uni.
According to Bernstein calculations, to achieve the 2060 carbon neutrality pledge made by President
Xi Jinping, China faces a "Herculean challenge": $US163 billion will have to be spent annually on
renewable energy and other decarbonisation technologies. That figure is close to double the $US91
billion invested in 2019 and amounts to $US6.5 trillion over four decades. But, Mr Beveridge noted, the
estimate might be conservative because it excludes related spending on areas such as electricity grid
upgrades.
Ouyang Shijia, (Staff), CHINA DAILY, Mar. 8, 2022. Retrieved Oct. 10, 2022 from Nexis Uni.
Control of carbon emissions and pollution requires policy, technology and accounting systems, the
establishment of which will come at a cost, he said. "Though it may lower costs in the future,
technological development also requires investment and will raise current costs," Liu said. He added that
China is entering a high-cost era. In addition to the burden of an aging population and the cost of the
low-carbon transition, the country could be confronted by costs that may emerge from uncertainties in
the complex international environment and those generated as the world revamps its supply and industry
chains.
20
F. CHINA HAS TURNED THE CORNER ON ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION.

While maintaining miracles of long-term social stability and an economic growth that has rarely been
seen in human history, China has achieved spectacular accomplishments with its green development,
adding a green factor to lift the quality of the countrys campaign to build a moderately prosperous society
in all respects. The average concentration of PM2.5 in cities at the prefecture level and above
decreased by 34.8 percent from 2015 to 2021. The number of days with heavy pollution reduced by 53.6
percent in the same time frame. Additionally, blue skies and clear water are becoming the new normal
for the country. The drop in Chinas energy intensity is among the fastest in the world, which is estimated
to have fallen by 26.2 percent cumulatively between 2012 and 2021. In 2021, Chinas coal use plunged to
around 56 percent of its total energy consumption, and the share of clean energy in its energy mix rose
to 25.5 percent.
"Following nearly five decades of endeavors, China has witnessed remarkable achievements in
environmental pollution control and natural ecosystem conservation," Qu said. For example, when the
People's Republic of China was founded in 1949, the nation's forest coverage rate stood at 8 percent. As
of last year, the rate had risen to about 23 percent, official figures show.
II. CHINA’S BELT AND ROAD INITIATIVE PROVIDES AN OPTIMUM BLEND OF ECONOMIC GROWTH AND
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION.
A. THE BELT AND ROAD INITIATIVE PROMOTES GREEN GROWTH.
From an analysis of China's outbound investment in the energy sector, since the launch of the Belt
and Road Initiative in 2013, it emerges that Chinese enterprises have been actively going global and
their outbound investment has shown significant growth. In recent years, enterprises have also been
practicing the concept of green and sustainable development. Among many energy varieties, PV
(photovoltaics) is the most typical and successful case. In the past 10 years, the cumulative installed
capacity of Chinese enterprises' overseas investment in PV projects has been increasing year after year,
with greenfield investments being the main investment and the rest realized through mergers and
acquisitions.
B. THE BELT AND ROAD INITIATIVE PROMOTES RENEWABLE ENERGY.
In recent years, China has formulated stricter green outbound investment guidelines and the Belt
and Road Initiative green project development guide. President Xi Jinping announced at the United
Nations General Assembly in September that China will stop building coal-fired power plants overseas.
With these encouraging changes, the priority for China's overseas power projects has already shifted to
renewable energy. In 2020, renewable projects exceeded more than 50 percent of the total. We are quite
confident that the experience and lessons that China has learned in renewable manufacturing,
technology innovation, market deployment and system integration can be replicable best practices for
developing countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative as they build their power infrastructure.
C. THE BELT AND ROAD INITIATIVE ADDRESSES CLIMATE CHANGE.
The energy assistance program is an excellent way for China to participate in global climate
governance. With its carbon peaking and neutrality targets at home and its commitment to high-quality
green development of the Belt and Road Initiative, China is more vocal in addressing climate change. In
the field of assistance, energy projects with excellent environmental benefits, low project costs, short
development cycles and sufficient supporting domestic capacity will not only demonstrate China's
responsibility as a major country in green development assistance, but also help promote the further
development of the domestic renewable energy industry.
21
THE STAR, Aug. 12, 2022. Retrieved Oct. 10, 2022 from Nexis Uni.
CHINA and African countries called world leaders to strive to urgently raise pledged funding to $100
billion (about R1.6 trillion) to fight the climate change war, which has now become the biggest global
threat facing the world, while forging ahead with crucial co-operation to urgently address growing threats.
In the past half decade, China and Africa have intensified efforts through critical policy and political
convergence on tackling climate change. Major China-Africa engagements have produced
groundbreaking frameworks prioritising climate change as an immediate threat to humanity, the China-
Africa Co-operation Vision 2035, Dakar Declaration of the Eighth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on
China-Africa Co-operation, Sino-African Declaration on Climate Change and the Focac Dakar Action
Plan (2022-2024). The later is profoundly groundbreaking, and, has the potential to address the growing
challenges of climate within blossoming China-Africa mutually beneficial co-operation.
Tonderay Mukeredzi, (Staff), CHINA DAILY, Nov. 26, 2021. Retrieved Oct. 7, 2022 from Nexis Uni.
Across sub-Saharan Africa, China's renewable energy involvement has been growing. For example,
the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative and the China–Africa Renewable Energy Cooperation and
Innovation Alliance have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to cooperate in renewable energy
generation in Africa to combat climate change and promote sustainable development. There is a wider
consensus that it is important for Chinese companies and financial institutions to act in line with these
goals.
Zhang Jing, (Project Lead, Energy Investment Project, Greenpeace), CHINA DAILY, Jan. 20, 2022.
China's leadership in renewable energy investment could lead to annual carbon emissions in the Belt
and Road countries dropping by 1.8 billion metric tons, or 17 percent compared to 2018. In Pakistan, for
example, the annual carbon emissions would be 4.12 million tons less-a 9.16 percent decrease. In
Poland, it would drop by 26.16 million tons per year-a 17.44 percent decrease-and in South Africa, by as
much as 13.68 million tons per year-also a 17.44 percent decrease. The impact on upstream and
downstream industries should be a major focus for energy investments. Research by Greenpeace
suggests that these projects would cut emissions across the value chain by around 768 million tons of oil
equivalent (or TOE, a standardized measure used to compare different energy sources).
D. CHINA HAS STOPPED FUNDING COAL PLANT CONSTRUCTION THROUGH ITS BELT AND ROAD
INITIATIVE.
Tonderay Mukeredzi, (Staff), CHINA DAILY, Nov. 26, 2021. Retrieved Oct. 7, 2022 from Nexis Uni.
Happening soon after the conclusion of COP26 in Scotland earlier this month, and President Xi
Jinping's announcement at the United Nations General Assembly in September that China will no longer
fund new coal-fired power plants overseas, Africa's expectations on climate and energy issues from the
conference are high.
22
NEGATIVE CASE #2: RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT IS PRIMARY

The thesis of this case is that poverty reduction should be the primary objective of Chinese policy. Poverty is the
greatest threat to the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people. The United Nations has recognized the primacy of
poverty reduction by listing it as the #1 objective among the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The UN has also
long recognized a basic right to development. Furthermore, by ignoring the goal of poverty reduction, it becomes
impossible to protect the environment.
OBSERVATION:
I. POVERTY REDUCTION SHOULD BE THE PRIMARY GOAL.
A. POVERTY REDUCTION IS #1 AMONG THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS (MDGS).
United Nations Development Programme, MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS, 2009. Retrieved Oct.
11, 2022 from www.undp.org/mdg/.
The MDGs represent a global partnership that has grown from the commitments and targets
established at the world summits of the 1990s. Responding to the world's main development challenges
and to the calls of civil society, the MDGs promote poverty reduction, education, maternal health, gender
equality, and aim at combating child mortality, AIDS and other diseases.
Edward O’Neil, (Prof., Emergency Medicine, Tufts U. School of Medicine), A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO
GLOBAL HEALTH SERVICE, 2006, xxxi.
Leaders from 189 countries gathered at the UN headquarters in New York in September 2000, and
agreed on a series of eight specific millennium development goals (MDGs), all of which impact health
and target their results for the year 2015. The MDGs may represent the best vehicle yet for the rich world
to correct the ills of those in poor countries by taking aim at the root causes of illness through carefully
constructed, clear, and achievable targets.
B. ALL NATIONS HAVE LONG RECOGNIZED A FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT.
ARTICLE I: UN DECLARATION ON THE RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT, Dec. 4, 1996. Retrieved Oct. 11,
2022 from https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/declaration-right-development
The right to development is an inalienable human right by virtue of which every human person and
all peoples are entitled to participate in, contribute to, and enjoy economic, social, cultural and political
development, in which all human rights and fundamental freedoms can be fully realized.
Daniel Aguirre, (Ph.D., Irish Centre for Human Rights), THE HUMAN RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT IN A
GLOBALIZED WORLD, 2008, 81-82.
This evolution of the right to development to a prominent position in international development
discourse has been confirmed for the new millennium. The heads of state and government gathered to
address important concepts concerning the right to development. Led by developing states, the
international community committed unequivocally to the right to development.
C. IGNORING POVERTY PROBLEMS WILL MAKE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION IMPOSSIBLE.
David Pearce, (Prof., Economics, University College, London), THE ROLE OF THE ENVIRONMENT IN
POVERTY ALLEVIATION, 2008, 36.
Poverty itself may make the poor agents of environmental destruction, which, in turn, makes poverty
worse through ill health and low labor productivity. Environmental factors such as poor water quality,
poor sanitation, and indoor air pollution, for example, are thought to account for almost 20 percent of
adverse health outcomes in developing countries, compared to about 4 percent in developed countries.
D. POVERTY IS SIGNIFICANTLY HARMFUL.
Xinhua, (China’s State Information Office), POVERTY ALLEVIATION: CHINA’S EXPERIENCE AND
CONTRIBUTION, Apr. 6, 2021. Retrieved Oct. 11, 2022 from http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2021-
04/06/c_139860414.htm
Poverty is a chronic affliction of human society and a common challenge faced by the whole world.
Poverty and its associated problems, including hunger, diseases, and social conflicts, are serious
impediments to people's pursuit of a better life, so the eradication of poverty has always been a wish to
be fulfilled. The history of humankind is the history of relentless struggle against poverty.
23
Jose Antonio Ocampo, (UN Under-Secretary General for Economic and Social Affairs), DEVELOPMENT
CHALLENGES IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA AND POST-CONFLICT COUNTRIES, Mar. 14, 2005, iii-iv.
The links between poverty and violent conflict are multidimensional. Poverty creates a risk
environment where violence and conflict can thrive.
CONTENTIONS:
I. ECONOMIC GROWTH IS ESSENTIAL TO REALIZE THE RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT.
A. ECONOMIC GROWTH IN CHINA HAS FOCUSED ON THE POOREST REGIONS.
Jack Goodman, (Staff, BBC), HAS CHINA LIFTED 100 MILLION PEOPLE OUT OF POVERTY?, Feb. 28,
2021. Retrieved Oct. 11, 2022 from https://www.bbc.com/news/56213271
China's rapid reduction in poverty went hand in hand with a long period of sustained economic
growth. Much of the focus has been on the poorest rural areas.
Maria Ana Lugo, (Sr. Economist, World Bank), WHAT’S NEXT FOR POVERTY REDUCTION POLICIES
IN CHINA?, Sept. 24, 2021. Retrieved Oct. 11, 2022 from https://www.brookings.edu/blog/future-
development/2021/09/24/whats-next-for-poverty-reduction-policies-in-china/
China’s poverty reduction success since 1980 is primarily a story of sustained economic growth. The
first decade of reform saw rapid income gains in agriculture, as China removed some of the biggest
distortions of the Mao era. In the second decade, industry took the leading role, both in urban and rural
areas, as reforms widened and deepened. During the third decade, the dynamism of China’s export-
oriented coastal areas spread further inland, as migration to the urban centers accelerated, infrastructure
investments (such as with the “Western Development Strategy”) multiplied, and a growing proportion of
China’s territory became economically integrated into global value chains.
B. HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS HAVE BEEN LIFTED OUT OF POVERTY.
Mahesh Pathak, (Staff), CHINA DAILY, June 24, 2022. Retrieved Oct. 10, 2022 from Nexis Uni.
Thanks to four decades of fast economic growth, China has reached a position where it can extend
help to countries in need. The fast economic growth has also helped China to lift about 800 million
people out of extreme poverty in the country, and significantly improve people's access to healthcare,
education, and other services. Driven by the motto of "leave no one behind", China's fight against
poverty has benefited the largest number of people in human history.
World Bank, LIFTING 800 MILLION OUT OF POVERTY, Apr. 1, 2022. Retrieved Oct. 11, 2022 from
https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2022/04/01/lifting-800-million-people-out-of-poverty-new-
report-looks-at-lessons-from-china-s-experience
Over the past 40 years, the number of people in China with incomes below $1.90 per day – the
International Poverty Line as defined by the World Bank to track global extreme poverty– has fallen by
close to 800 million. With this, China has contributed close to three-quarters of the global reduction in the
number of people living in extreme poverty. At China’s current national poverty line, the number of poor
fell by 770 million over the same period.
C. GROWTH IS ESSENTIAL TO MEET BASIC HUMAN NEEDS.
Maria Ana Lugo, (Sr. Economist, World Bank), WHAT’S NEXT FOR POVERTY REDUCTION POLICIES
IN CHINA?, Sept. 24, 2021. Retrieved Oct. 11, 2022 from https://www.brookings.edu/blog/future-
development/2021/09/24/whats-next-for-poverty-reduction-policies-in-china/
Following the eradication of absolute poverty, China has set the year 2035 as the target date to
achieve common prosperity. This is understood as providing the opportunity for a decent standard of
living to all Chinese citizens. Ensuring equal access to education, health care, and other services,
leveraging market signals and competition to encourage innovation and the diffusion of technologies,
and repeatedly adjusting government policies to ensure social transfers target key vulnerabilities and
help China’s citizens manage the risk of a rapid socioeconomic transformation—these are the lesson of
the past 40 years. They will continue to serve China well on the road ahead.
24
World Bank, LIFTING 800 MILLION OUT OF POVERTY, Apr. 1, 2022. Retrieved Oct. 11, 2022 from
https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2022/04/01/lifting-800-million-people-out-of-poverty-new-
report-looks-at-lessons-from-china-s-experience
“China’s battle against poverty has benefited the largest number of people in human history,” said
Minister Ma Jiantang, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group of the DRC. “To sustain poverty reduction
gains, China will focus more on achieving endogenous development in areas that have been lifted out of
poverty and introduce vigorous measures to support rural revitalization. Our goal is to achieve common
prosperity and high-quality development including through the rural revitalization strategy with a focus in
five key areas: industry development, human capital, culture, ecological environment and local
governance.”
II. PRIORITIZING ECONOMIC GROWTH IS ESSENTIAL TO ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION.
A. PROSPERITY IS ESSENTIAL TO ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION.
Ethan Yang, (JD Candidate, George Mason U.), STUDY FINDS ECONOMIC PROSPERITY IS
ASSOCIATED WITH A CLEANER ENVIRONMENT, July 13, 2021. Retrieved Oct. 11, 2022 from
https://www.humanprogress.org/study-finds-economic-prosperity-is-associated-with-a-cleaner-environment/
Good policy results are associated with wealth (GDP per capita), meaning that economic prosperity
makes it possible for nations to invest in policies and programs that lead to desirable outcomes. This
trend is especially true for issue categories under the umbrella of environmental health, as building the
necessary infrastructure to provide clean drinking water and sanitation, reduce ambient air pollution,
control hazardous waste, and respond to public health crises yields large returns for human well-being.
Ethan Yang, (JD Candidate, George Mason U.), STUDY FINDS ECONOMIC PROSPERITY IS
ASSOCIATED WITH A CLEANER ENVIRONMENT, July 13, 2021. Retrieved Oct. 11, 2022 from
https://www.humanprogress.org/study-finds-economic-prosperity-is-associated-with-a-cleaner-environment/
The relationship between better environmental performance scores and GDP per capita is quite
intuitive. The first major reason being that environmentally friendly technology, cleanup operations, and
ecological stewardship are expensive. Richer societies can afford to divert more resources to protecting
the environment, while poorer societies tend to be more concerned with meeting basic living standards.
Patrick Greenfield, (Staff), THE GUARDIAN, Oct. 16, 2021. Retrieved Oct. 10, 2022 from Nexis Uni.
As China grows richer, its citizens expect the environment they live in to be protected. It is also
rewriting the social contract between the ruler and the ruled. Reports of water contamination and air
pollution anger citizens, who then turn to social media to complain.
B. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION REQUIRES A GREAT DEAL OF MONEY.
World Bank, CHINA COUNTRY CLIMATE AND DEVELOPMENT REPORT, Oct. 12, 2022, p. 5-6.
Report download available at https://reliefweb.int/report/china/country-climate-and-development-
report-ccdr-china-enzh Decarbonization will require significant investments in a massive green
infrastructure and technology scaleup. Specifically, our sectoral models suggest that China would need a
total of about US$14 trillion in additional investments from now until 2060 for the power and transport
sectors alone, equivalent to 0.97 percent of GDP during that period (see Table O.2).1 To avoid locking-in
carbon intensive assets and meet China’s NDC targets, a large part of these investments would need to
be frontloaded, requiring about US$2.1 trillion (equivalent to roughly 1.1 percent of GDP) in the next
decade.
C. CHINA IS FOCUSING ON GREEN GROWTH.
Xu Wei, (Staff), CHINA DAILY, Nov. 14, 2021. Retrieved Oct. 10, 2022 from Nexis Uni.
Analysts said the scale and depth of China's climate actions are unprecedented, even as the world's
second-largest economy and largest developing country is faced with an equally urgent task to keep up
economic growth and raise people's living standards.
25
Looking back to the end of 2005, when China passed its Renewable Energy Law, wind and solar
power capacity was just 1,060 MW. Afterward, in just 15 years, the total capacity of wind and solar power
skyrocketed to 590 GW. Both benefited from the Renewable Energy Law, the ambitious development
planning for renewables, the facilitating of feed-in tariffs and effective rollout. Observed from the
perspective of meeting the needs of electricity consumption growth, the contribution of wind and solar
power is also on the rise, from 2.7 percent during 2006-10 to 11.7 percent during 2011-15, then to 27
percent during 2016-20. These figures highlight the government's determination to advance the energy
transition and actively cope with climate change.
Yu Zirong, (Vice President, Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, Ministry
of Commerce), CHINA DAILY, Oct. 18, 2021. Retrieved Oct. 7, 2022 from Nexis Uni.
Third, China's experience in tackling poverty alleviation programs based on energy development and
energy transformation is also worth sharing. For instance, the "No 1 central document" for 2021,
released in February, stressed implementing an action plan for rural vitalization and setting up targets for
better rural public infrastructure through initiating projects on rural clean energy. It proposed the
establishment of a high quality energy mechanism in rural areas, including photovoltaic and wind power.
Such action plans should be included in the cooperation to strengthen capacity and policy exchanges
with other countries under the framework of South-South cooperation.
26
NEGATIVE CASE #3: ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION ON CLIMATE IS THE DUTY OF

DEVELOPED, NOT DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
The thesis of this case is that China should reject the calls from the United States and other developed countries to
curb its economic growth. The first issue is that developed countries are the ones primarily responsible for the most
serious environmental issue, namely, rapid climate change. Justice requires that developed countries should bear the
primary responsibility for addressing climate change. Ironically, China’s contribution to addressing climate change is
comes primarily from facilitating the worldwide transition to renewable energy.
OBSERVATIONS:
I. JUSTICE IS THE STANDARD THAT SHOULD DETERMINE PRIORITIES FOR ACTION.
[See Justice Brief in The Value Debate Handbook]
Helmut Reifeld, (Head of Overseas Offices, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung – a German Think Tank), WE HAVE
JUSTICE IN COMMON, 2008, 7.
Justice is a core value not only in the fields of theology, law and political philosophy, but also in
politics, social life and economics. It is a value that generates other values.
Joseph Stigtitz, (Former Chair, Council of Economic Advisers a Chief Economist of the
World Bank), GLOBALIZATION AND ITS DISCONTENTS, 2002, xv.
We are a global community, and like all communities have to follow some rules so that we can live
together, These rules must be — and must be seen to be — fair and just, must pay due attention to the
poor as well as the powerful, must reflect a basic sense of decency and social justice.
John Schaar, (Prof., Philosophy, U. California, Santa Cruz), JOHN RAWLS' THEORY OF SOCIAL
JUSTICE, 1980, 162.
"Justice is the first virtue of social institutions, as truth is of systems of thought". With that assertion,
Rawls recalls us to the very origins of political philosophy, reminding errant political theorists and citizens
alike that justice is their first concern. Not power, or the GNP, or efficiency, or the endless pursuit of
private interest but justice is the proper subject of political thought and action as it is the defining
characteristic of the good state.
II. JUSTICE DEMANDS THAT THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR CAUSING A HARM ARE ALSO THE ONES
RESPONSIBLE FOR REDRESSING THAT HARM.
Nick Gier, (Prof., Philosophy, Emeritus, U. of Idaho), AMERICA'S MORAL OBLIGATION FOR GLOBAL
WARMING, Apr. 3, 2007. Retrieved Oct. 11, 2022 from www.tomandrodna.com/Nick_Gier/041707_
Global_Warming.pdf.
A simple moral truth is that if you injure people or directly affect their livelihoods, then they are owed
compensation. Even libertarians believe this. Arguing against President Nixon's proposal to create the
Environmental Protection Agency, libertarians proposed that it would be more efficient for those injured
by pollution to file class action suits in the courts. How could Americans and Europeans meet their moral
obligations for damage caused by their carbon production? Sir Nicholas has calculated that will take an
investment equivalent to one percent of world GNP to prevent the greatest of the Great Depressions.
Peter Singer, (Prof., Bioethics, Princeton U.), MORAL GROUND: ETHICAL ACTION FOR A PLANET IN
PERIL, 2010, 321.
If we apply the “You broke it, you fix it” principle, then the developed nations have to take
responsibility for our “broken” atmosphere, which can no longer absorb more greenhouse gases without
the world’s climate changing.
Kathleen Dean Moore, (Prof., Philosophy, Oregon State U.), MORAL GROUND: ETHICAL ACTION FOR A
PLANET IN PERIL, 2010, 291.
People in the poorest situations now, and increasingly in the future, will pay the costs of the
profligate use of fossil fuels by people in the richest nations. Both intergenerationally and internationally,
those who reap the short-term benefit of abusing the world are not the ones who will pay the price. This
is not fair. We all seem to be committed to the concept of justice, but we sometimes mean different
things. This matters not one bit, because by any definition of justice, forcing others to bear the burden of
your benefit is unfair.
27
World Wildlife Fund Global. THE WORLD NEEDS WAYS TO ADAPT TO CLIMATE CHANGE, 2012.
Retrieved Oct. 11, 2022 from https://www.slideshare.net/wwf/wwfs-new-climate-deal-pocket-guide
Developed countries have an obligation to fund adaptation among poor nations that are victims of
climate change. International law, based on the well-established ‘polluter-pays’ principle, suggests there
is a legal duty on major CO2 emitters to protect such countries.
CONTENTIONS:
I. DEVELOPED COUNTRIES HAVE PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITY TO SLOW GLOBAL WARMING.
A. JUSTICE REQUIRES THAT DEVELOPED COUNTRIES BEAR PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITY FOR
ADDRESSING CLIMATE CHANGE.
For decades, China resisted making commitments under the UN framework. Chinese diplomats
argued that China shouldn’t have to sacrifice its economic development for environmental protection and
that developed countries, such as the United States, should carry more of the burden because they were
able to grow their economies without limitations.
Nadja Popovich, (Staff, New York Times), WHO HAS THE MOST HISTORICAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR
CLIMATE CHANGE?, Nov. 12, 2021. Retrieved Oct. 11, 2022 from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/
2021/11/12/climate/cop26-emissions-compensation.html
Rich countries, including the United States, Canada, Japan and much of western Europe, account
for just 12 percent of the global population today but are responsible for 50 percent of all the planet-
warming greenhouse gases released from fossil fuels and industry over the past 170 years.
Shan Jie, (Staff), GLOBAL TIMES, Nov. 2, 2021. Retrieved Oct. 11, 2022 from https://www.global
times.cn/page/202111/1237976.shtml
Accusing China and other developing countries in terms of greenhouse gas emissions is a common
trick for some Westerners, who, after enjoying the benefits at the cost of polluting the environment for
decades, now start to blame other countries for "emitting too much greenhouse gases.
Sinan Ulgen, (Sr. Fellow, Carnegie Foundation for International Peace), HOW DEEP IS THE NORTH-
SOUTH DIVIDE ON CLIMATE NEGOTIATIONS?, Oct. 6, 2021. Retrieved Oct. 11, 2022 from
https://carnegieeurope.eu/2021/10/06/how-deep-is-north-south-divide-on-climate-negotiations-pub-85493
Industrialized and post-industrialized nations are responsible for a great share of the historical
carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the atmosphere today. The United States has emitted more carbon
than any other country to date and is responsible for 25 percent of historical emissions. Next in line are
the twenty-seven countries of the EU (plus the UK), which are responsible for 22 percent of global CO2
emissions. Meanwhile, China’s historical contributions are estimated to be around 12.7 percent.
B. EVEN NOW, THE UNITED STATES IS PRIMARILY RESPONSIBLE FOR CARBON EMISSIONS.
Emma Gatten, (Staff), THE DAILY TELEGRAPH, Jan. 27, 2022. Retrieved Oct. 10, 2022 from Nexis Uni.
Xi Jinping has argued that China, which has roughly half the per capita emissions of the US, should
not have to move as fast as other developed countries to cut its greenhouse gases.
World Bank data released by the World Bank in March show the per-capita carbon emissions of
China was 6.4 metric tons per citizen, 15th in the world, much fewer than major developed countries
including the US (17.6), Canada (15.7), Australia (14.9) and South Korea (13.3). In 2018, the average
CO2 emissions of high-income countries and regions was 10.3 metric tons per capita, while for China
was 7.4.
28
C. DEVELOPED COUNTRIES HAVE FAILED TO DELIVER ON THEIR CLIMATE ACTION PROMISES.

Nadja Popovich, (Staff, New York Times), WHO HAS THE MOST HISTORICAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR
CLIMATE CHANGE?, Nov. 12, 2021. Retrieved Oct. 11, 2022 from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/
2021/11/12/climate/cop26-emissions-compensation.html
A decade ago, the world’s wealthiest economies pledged to mobilize $100 billion per year in climate
finance for poorer countries by 2020. But they are still falling short by tens of billions of dollars annually,
and very little aid so far has gone toward measures to help poorer countries cope with the hazards of a
hotter planet, such as sea walls or early warning systems for floods and droughts.
Though they have the world's highest per-capita greenhouse gas emissions and transfer polluting
companies to less developed regions, in terms of confronting climate change, developed countries
continue to shift the blame to developing countries, and have failed to fulfill their obligations. The familiar
scene could have resurfaced and caused tensions at the 26th United Nations Conference of Parties on
Climate Change (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland. Xie Zhenhua, China Special Envoy for Climate Change,
noted on Tuesday in Glasgow that "rich nations made a significant pledge to channel $100 billion a year
to less wealthy nations by 2020 twelve years ago, and this hasn't been fulfilled."
Developed countries first enjoyed rapid development, and then transferred pollution after the
ecosystem was destroyed and the environment was polluted, while developing countries only take over
polluting industries to defeat poverty, Li Haisheng, president of the Chinese Research Academy of
Environmental Sciences, told the Global Times.
II. CHINA MAKES A MAJOR CONTRIBUTION TO SOLVING CLIMATE CHANGE BY LEADING THE WORLD IN
THE DEVELOPMENT OF RENEWABLE ENERGY.
A. CHINA IS THE GLOBAL LEADER IN RENEWABLE ENERGY.
ASIA POWER MONITOR TODAY, May 12, 2021. Retrieved Oct. 10, 2022 from Nexis Uni.
China is at the centre of global renewable demand and supply, accounting for around 40% of global
renewable capacity growth for several years. In 2020, China's share rose to 50% for the first time due to
a rush to complete projects before government subsidies were phased out.
ASIA POWER MONITOR TODAY, May 12, 2021. Retrieved Oct. 10, 2022 from Nexis Uni.
China is the largest manufacturer of solar panels and wind turbines, as well as the biggest supplier of
raw materials such as silicon, glass, steel, copper and rare earth materials needed to build them.
B. CHINA SUPPLIES THE MATERIALS NECESSARY TO REACH ZERO-CARBON GOALS.
Leslie Hook, (Staff), THE FINANCIAL TIMES, Feb. 6, 2021. Retrieved Oct. 10, 2022 from Nexis Uni.
As major economies work to reach their net-zero goals, they will have to buy more solar panels,
batteries and critical minerals. The main supplier? China.
Energy shortage is one of the major bottlenecks that has a detrimental effect on economic recovery
in the post-pandemic era. As one of the first major economies to largely contain the pandemic, China is
working to help other developing countries realize energy transformation and promote green
development in the face of the COVID-19 by sharing its experience in low-carbon development and
providing assistance in this regard.
Hou Liqiang, (Staff), CHINA DAILY, Nov. 1, 2021. Retrieved Oct. 10, 2022 from Nexis Uni.
China has outpaced all other nations with regard to the production and sale of new energy vehicles
for six consecutive years, it said. It has also topped the world in the outputs of some major facilities for
photovoltaic power generation over the past eight years. "As the world's largest manufacturer of
equipment for clean energy, China will proactively promote the development and utilization of clean
energy around the globe and international cooperation in this regard," Sun said, adding that the country
will also help developing nations make their energy supply efficient, clean and diversified.
29
C. CHINA PROVIDES KEY INVESTMENT DOLLARS FOR GREEN ENERGY DEVELOPMENT.

enzh
China is at the forefront of advancing low-carbon energy supply and mobility. It has one-third of the
world’s installed wind power and a quarter of its solar capacity. Already today over 4 million jobs—more
than half of the global total in renewable energy—are in China. Fueled by its large domestic savings,
China is also becoming a leader in green finance, being home to the world’s largest green bond and
credit markets. These opportunities are also real.
D. STRONG ECONOMIC GROWTH IS ESSENTIAL FOR CHINA TO CONTINUE TO PROMOTE
RENEWABLE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT.
With the country's economy taking off, China's renewable energy industry has made remarkable
achievements that offer strong support for its green and low-carbon energy transition domestically, as
well as in other developing countries through foreign assistance. Through multilateral channels, under
the framework of the China South-South Climate Cooperation Fund, the country continues to organize
training for officials and technicians of developing countries, while providing photovoltaic equipment for
generating power. Green energy assistance has also been enhanced bilaterally, such as the building of a
photovoltaic system with a total installed capacity of 1 megawatt in Nepal, and a 50-MW solar power
plant in Garissa, Kenya, the largest photovoltaic power station in East Africa. China's rapidly iterating
energy technologies and economies of scale have greatly reduced the cost of renewable energy
utilization; as the development and commercial cooperation scales up, more developing countries can
share the benefits of China's renewable energy development.
E. CHINA PROVIDES HALF OF THE WORLD’S SUPPLY OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES.
Last year, 3.2 million electric vehicles, half the number sold globally, were bought on the Chinese
mainland. Huang Runqiu, head of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the biggest national
environmental authority, which was established in a State Council reshuffle in 2018, stressed China's
determination to continue contributing to global environmental governance.
30
Index to Evidence & Evidence 2. Zhuoshi Liu, (Dir., China Program, Environmental Law
Institute), ENVIRONMENTAL LAW REPORTER, Sept. 2021,
I. China should prioritize environmental protection over 10752. In 2014, the central government of China announced a
economic growth. plan to create by 2020 a corporate environmental credit system
A. China has carbon emissions solutions available. (1-5) (ECS), an incentive mechanism to deter companies'
B. China continues to be reliant on coal. (6-8) environmental violations and promote a culture of environmental
C. The Belt and Road Emissions is responsible for carbon law compliance. The rewards and penalties under the ECS
supplement regular civil, administrative, and criminal liabilities for
emissions. (9-10) environmental violations that exist under Chinese law. The ECS
D. China is the biggest emitter. (11) was to be implemented at the provincial level, and by the end of
E. China suffers significantly from the effects of climate change. 2020, all 31 provinces, provincial-level municipalities, and
(12-14) provincial-level autonomous regions (collectively "provinces") of
F. Renewables in China are growing, but still insufficient. (15-16) mainland China, with the exception of Beijing, had either
G. Economic growth causes CO2 emissions. (17) published their own corporate environmental credit regulations or
H. Climate change is an existential threat. (18-21) adopted in practice or via regulation a standard version
I. Environmental protection boosts economic growth. (22) developed by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE).
Under these systems, the provinces have started to evaluate the
J. China has prioritized environmental protection. (23-29)
environmental performance of businesses and reward or
K. Growth worsens air pollution. (30-32) penalize them on the basis of the "credit" evaluations. This has
L. Economic growth is bad. (33-34) led to the provinces rewarding many high-performing companies
M. Urbanization is bad. (35) with preferential treatment, such as expedited permitting
N. The Chinese government is focusing on environmental approval processes, decreased inspection frequencies, reduced
protection. (36-37) utility rates, and lower loan interest rates. At the same time,
O. Pollution is a serious problem. (38-39) many serious or persistent environmental violators have been
P. Pollution results in political unrest. (40) subject to penalties, such as increased inspection frequencies,
Q. Economic growth is devastating to the environment. (41) suspension of eligibility for certain government subsidies,
increased utility rates, and denial of access to certain new loans.
R. China’s dam projects are harmful. (42-47)
3. Daniel Farber, (Prof., Law, U. California at Berkeley), OHIO
II. China should not prioritize environmental protection over STATE LAW JOURNAL, 2021, 961. China has announced plans
economic growth. to establish an emissions trading system, but so far the
A. China is actively developing renewable energy. (48-60) nationwide system has only covered the electricity sector. Daniel
B. It is possible to have both economic growth and environmental Farber, (Prof., Law, U. California at Berkeley), OHIO STATE
LAW JOURNAL, 2021, 962. Finally, the term "ecological
protection. (63) civilization" was written into China's newly revised 2018
C. Industry will move elsewhere. (64) Constitution, which has turned climate change into a central
D. Enforcement of environmental regulations is the key. (65) theme in all government strategies and actions of all levels, that
E. China is taking action on the environment. (66-67) is, to put ecology and environment as priorities over economic
F. The Belt and Road Initiative is supporting green development. growth.
(68-69) 4. Daniel Farber, (Prof., Law, U. California at Berkeley), OHIO
G. China’s growth area has shifted to renewables. (70) STATE LAW JOURNAL, 2021, 963. Pilot projects have received
H. Addressing environmental issues requires economic resources. increasing attention in China as ways of fostering bottom-up
(71-72) innovation and advancing legitimate government objectives. For
I. China is doing its part. (73) example, as part of an initiative to introduce competition into
J. China focuses on green growth. (74) electricity markets, over twenty trial plans were submitted by
K. China drives world economic growth. (75-80) local agencies. Green projects such as the carbon trading pilot
L. China is key to global growth. (81) programs, the pilot low-carbon cities initiative, the green finance
M. China lends liberally for green projects abroad. (82-83) pilot zones, and pilots for a variety of renewable energy
technologies, will also speed up the development of green
N. The Belt and Road Initiative supports renewable development industry and progress towards carbon neutrality.
abroad. (84)
O. Covid issues puts the world economy on the brink. (85) 5. Lindsay Maizland, (Analyst, Council on Foreign Relations),
P. China supports the growth of electric vehicles worldwide. (86) CHINA’S FIGHT AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE AND
Q. An economic slowdown in China slows the world economy. (87- ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION, May 19, 2021. Retrieved
Oct. 10, 2022 from https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/china-
90)
climate-change-policies-environmental-degradation Like the
R. An economic slowdown in China may result in a more militaristic European Union and several other countries, China is working to
foreign policy. (91) launch a national emissions trading scheme, which would force
S. A global recession would be bad. (92-96) polluters to pay for environmental harm and thus incentivize
them to reduce their emissions. It would initially focus on coal-
and gas-fired power plants. However, the rollout has been
Evidence delayed since the scheme was first announced in 2017, and
many details remain unclear.
1. Daniel Farber, (Prof., Law, U. California at Berkeley), OHIO
STATE LAW JOURNAL, 2021, 955. Across the Pacific, the Local
People's Congress in the city of Shenzhen has adopted China's
first citywide carbon trading program. Operating in a very
different setting in Japan, eighty-nine local governments,
including Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Yokohama City,
have endorsed a 2050 goal of net zero carbon emissions. These
local governments include about half of Japan's population, and
a combined GDP of about $ 2.8 trillion.
31
6. Halley Herbst, (JD Candidate), FORDHAM INTERNATIONAL 11. Martina Ignini, (Analyst, Earth.Org based in Hong Kong &
LAW JOURNAL, May 2022, 956. However, despite being a Team Member, UN Global Communication Department), TOP 5
leader in renewable energy, China continues to possess the ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES IN CHINA IN 2022, June 23, 2022.
third-largest coal reserves across the globe, a reliance on Retrieved Oct. 11, 2022 from https://earth.org/environmental-
imported coal which has only increased over time. Its coal issues-in-china/ With an ever-increasing population, the demand
dependency must change to meet the ambitious goals set by for electricity has grown with no respite, leading to even more
COP26 signatories, Chinese stakeholders in the UN Fashion coal-burning and worsened air standards. Furthermore, despite
Charter for Climate Action, and China's own national ambitions pledging to reach net zero emissions before 2060, the country
disclosed in its 14th Five-Year-Plan. Establishing carbon remains by far the world’s largest producer and consumer of
emissions and a coal usage cap in its Five-Year-Plan could coal, which alone covers 60% of its electricity demand. In an
incentivize further development and increased energy reliance effort to restore the economy to pre-pandemic levels and curb
on renewable energy sources over coal. the energy crisis sparked by the exponential rise in industrial
activities the country experienced in 2021, the Chinese
7. ASIA POWER MONITOR TODAY, June 15, 2022. Retrieved government ordered factories to increase their production
Oct. 10, 2022 from Nexis Uni. Just months after Chinese capacity and built more than triple the amount of new coal power
authorities imposed steep penalties on illegal coal mines in the capacity as the rest of the world combined. Unsurprisingly, CO2
northern province of Shanxi, the first few weeks of 2022 saw emissions in the same year almost reached 12 billion tonnes,
Beijing give the green light to 7.3 GW of new coal-fired power accounting for 33% of the global total.
plants (CPPs) across the country. Coming at a cost of $1.5bn,
construction of the new CPPs, however, runs somewhat counter 12. Martina Ignini, (Analyst, Earth.Org based in Hong Kong &
to a number of pledges made by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Team Member, UN Global Communication Department), TOP 5
the United Nations; one being that Beijing would stop funding ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES IN CHINA IN 2022, June 23, 2022.
overseas coal projects. Retrieved Oct. 11, 2022 from https://earth.org/environmental-
issues-in-china/ China is certainly not spared by the effects of
8. HINDUSTAN TIMES, APR. 21, 2021. Retrieved Oct. 10, 2022 global warming, and is experiencing more frequent natural
from Nexis Uni. China's tech firms are not adopting clean energy disasters, which lead to destruction, great human suffering, and
"fast enough" to mark their commitment towards carbon biodiversity loss. As of 2021, the economic superpower is ranked
neutrality, though more Chinese internet companies have begun fourth in the world among countries with the most natural
to procure renewable energy and are disclosing greenhouse gas disasters worldwide. On track to becoming the world’s largest
emissions data, environmental group Greenpeace said in a economy, China’s extreme rapid industrial expansion in recent
report on Wednesday. The report says China's data centre decades has also contributed to record levels of air and water
industry is a significant and growing source of CO2 emissions - pollution.
energy consumption from the sector is on track to increase 66%
between 2019 and 2023; while in 2018, data centres in China 13. Stephen Bartholomeusz, (Staff), THE AGE, Aug. 18, 2022.
were powered 73% by coal. Retrieved Oct. 10, 2022 from Nexis Uni. China has also been
experiencing extreme weather. A drought in southern China has
9. Lindsay Maizland, (Analyst, Council on Foreign Relations), led to shortages of hydro electricity, causing energy rationing
CHINA’S FIGHT AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE AND and factory closures to conserve power for households. Crop
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION, May 19, 2021. Retrieved production is being threatened by falling water levels in the
Oct. 10, 2022 from https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/china- Yangtze River. There have been massive floods in northern
climate-change-policies-environmental-degradation China is the China.
world’s top emitter, producing more than a quarter of the world’s
annual greenhouse gas emissions, which contribute to climate 14. Yuan Ye, (Reporter, Sixth Tone), IPCC WARNS CHINA
change. It pledged to cut emissions under the Paris Agreement, WILL BE HIT HARD BY CLIMATE CHANGE, Mar. 3, 2022.
reduce coal use, and invest in renewable energy. But its Belt and Retrieved Oct. 11, 2022 from https://www.sixthtone.com/news/
Road Initiative still finances coal-fired power plants abroad. Air 1009809/ipcc-warns-china-will-be-hit-hard-by-climate-change
pollution, water scarcity, and soil contamination remain threats to China is already dealing with water scarcity, and climate change
the health and livelihoods of China’s people, increasing will only exacerbate this problem, affecting farming and people’s
dissatisfaction with the government. livelihoods, the report says. At the same time, global warming
will also bring more extreme rainfall. Asian coasts are projected
10. Lindsay Maizland, (Analyst, Council on Foreign Relations), to see higher sea level rise than the global average, according to
CHINA’S FIGHT AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE AND the report. Chinese megacities along the coastline, home to
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION, May 19, 2021. Retrieved much of the country’s population and economic activity, are at
Oct. 10, 2022 from https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/china- high risk for storm surges and high waves caused by tropical
climate-change-policies-environmental-degradation Even if cyclones of higher intensity, the [IPCC] researchers warned.
China reaches its domestic goals, its financing of nonrenewable
energy projects abroad through BRI could make it “much harder 15. Yuan Jiahai, (Prof., Economics, North China Electric Power
for the planet to curb climate change,” says American University), CHINA DAILY, Dec. 10, 2021. Retrieved Oct. 10,
University’s Judith Shapiro, coauthor of the book China Goes 2022 from Nexis Uni. In 2020, the added annual capacity of wind
Green: Coercive Environmentalism for a Troubled Planet. Beijing and solar PV in China was 119 GW, approximating an annual
has attempted to make BRI more environmentally sustainable by electricity generation of 190 terawatt-hours, which accounted for
announcing environmental standards, but so far these have only only 1.1 percent of China's primary energy consumption. In the
been voluntary. same year, China's primary energy consumption was 4,980
million metric tons of coal equivalent.
16. Zhu Tong, (Dir., Energy Economics Department, Institute of
Industrial Economics at the Chinese Academy of Social
Sciences), CHINA DAILY, Jan. 20, 2021. Retrieved Oct. 10,
2022 from Nexis Uni. Although China is the largest producer and
consumer of renewable energy, the share of renewables in its
total energy mix is still not large enough. In 2019, renewables
accounted for 25.3 percent of China's primary energy
consumption, which means China still has a long way to go to
achieve the goal of carbon neutrality.
32
17. World Bank, CHINA COUNTRY CLIMATE AND 21. Richard Schwartz & Dan Brook, (Prof., Emeritus, College of
DEVELOPMENT REPORT, Oct. 12, 2022, p. 24. Report Staten Island/Prof., Sociology, San Jose State U.), CLIMATE
download available at https://reliefweb.int/report/china/country- CHANGE: AN EXISTENTIAL THREAT TO HUMANITY AND
climate-and-development-report-ccdr-china-enzh China’s rapid HOW WE CAN SURVIVE, May 23, 2022. Retrieved Oct. 11,
economic ascendance since the 1970s has led to a nearly 30- 2022 from https://www.nexiawellness.com/discover/holistic-
fold increase in per capita income but has also resulted in wellness-alternative-health/climate-change-an-existential-threat-
carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions growing more than tenfold over to-humanity-and-how-we-can-survive/ The people
the same period. This correlation between growth and emissions disproportionately affected by climate chaos are the poor and
reflects deep interconnections: The very same drivers that socially disadvantaged, since they are in the weakest position to
propelled China’s rapid economic growth and unprecedented guard against environmental damages and will likely suffer the
development gains—capital deepening, export-led most harm. In the underdeveloped world, and perhaps especially
industrialization, and urbanization—have also resulted in rising in China, India and Southeast Asia, as well as much of Africa,
carbon emissions. The strong reliance on energy-intensive the Middle East and Latin America, climate change is negatively
activities in driving economic development led China to become affecting urban drinking water systems, agricultural output, and
not only the world’s second largest economy but also the largest commercial and other transport on rivers.
energy consumer, while its reliance on coal as a primary energy
source has made it the world’s biggest current emitter of energy- 22. Khalid Taimur Akram, (Dir., Center for Global and Strategic
related CO2. Studies), CHINA DAILY, Sept. 25, 2021. Retrieved Oct. 10, 2022
from Nexis Uni. The greening of China's manufacturing system
18. Abhishek Kumar, (Prof., Environmental Engineering, Barla is key to building a more sustainable economy. The
Institute of Technology, India), CLIMATE CHANGE AND transformation is making headway and State-supported research
EXISTENTIAL THREATS, 2021, p. 1. The unprecedented and development efforts have yielded exceptional results,
intrusion of human beings into nature has given rise to worldwide benefiting green technological innovation. In fact, Beijing's policy
devastations. Animals and plants have been suffering on a for digital advancement is a model other countries could follow.
massive scale. Newer problems keep coming into the picture on
a daily basis, damaging the planet massively. Climate change 23. Hou Liqiang, (Staff), CHINA DAILY, Oct. 28, 2021. Retrieved
has been the front runner among all the problems. It is caused Oct. 10, 2022 from Nexis Uni. The "White Paper on Responding
by a rise in the amount of greenhouse gases, deforestation, to Climate Change: China's Policies and Actions", was made
waste generation, and population explosion. public on Wednesday at a news conference organized by the
State Council Information Office. With 44.7 percent of the
19. Richard Schwartz & Dan Brook, (Prof., Emeritus, College of country's installed capacity for power generation non-fossil, the
Staten Island/Prof., Sociology, San Jose State U.), CLIMATE proportion of non-fossil energy in its energy consumption mix
CHANGE: AN EXISTENTIAL THREAT TO HUMANITY AND had been lifted to 15.9 percent last year, up 8.5 percentage
HOW WE CAN SURVIVE, May 23, 2022. Retrieved Oct. 11, points from 2005, according to the white paper. Compared with
2022 from https://www.nexiawellness.com/discover/holistic- 2005, the installed capacity for solar energy grew over 3,000
wellness-alternative-health/climate-change-an-existential-threat- times and for wind energy it grew 200 times, the white paper
to-humanity-and-how-we-can-survive/ Humanity is threatened as stated. It also said that with energy efficiency increasingly
never before and major changes need to occur to put our enhanced, China has been a major contributor to global energy
imperiled planet onto a sustainable path – and as soon as conservation. China's energy consumption per unit of GDP
possible. Even though a small number of individuals still deny decreased by 28.7 percent from 2011 to 2020, the document
the reality of climate change, there is strong scientific and said.
environmental consensus across a wide range of disciplines that
climate change is real, serious, worsening, and caused by 24. Patrick Greenfield, (Staff), THE GUARDIAN, Oct. 16, 2021.
human activity (anthropogenic) among all major scientific and Retrieved Oct. 10, 2022 from Nexis Uni. But what does
environmental organizations, journals, magazines, and ecological civilisation mean for China and the world?
museums, and nearly all peer-reviewed scholarly articles, in Superficially, it is the slogan for Chinese efforts to embrace
addition to all reputable colleges and universities and most environmental sustainability and move on from four decades of
governments and large corporations. The evidence is rapid economic growth that have come at great cost to nature,
overwhelming and continuing to pile up. say experts. Beijing's 2060 carbon-neutrality target , commitment
to reach peak emissions by 2030 and decision to end financing
20. Richard Schwartz & Dan Brook, (Prof., Emeritus, College of for coal-fired power stations overseas are part of it, they add, but
Staten Island/Prof., Sociology, San Jose State U.), CLIMATE it also covers traditional medicine, the wildlife trade, hydropower
CHANGE: AN EXISTENTIAL THREAT TO HUMANITY AND dams and farming methods. Ecological civilisation is an axiom of
HOW WE CAN SURVIVE, May 23, 2022. Retrieved Oct. 11, "Xi Jinping Thought", the Chinese president's political ideology,
2022 from https://www.nexiawellness.com/discover/holistic- now enshrined alongside Mao Zedong Thought and Deng
wellness-alternative-health/climate-change-an-existential-threat- Xiaoping Theory in the Chinese Communist party's constitution.
to-humanity-and-how-we-can-survive/ The 2019
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth
Assessment Report on global warming was written by about 100
climate scientists from 40 countries, based on 6,981 scientific
studies and over 42,000 expert and governmental comments.
The IPCC has 195 member states. The report carefully
delineates clear trends and potentially catastrophic
consequences associated with climate change, warning of
irreversible change, unless we very soon make radical and
unprecedented efforts to counter global warming.
33
25. Patrick Greenfield, (Staff), THE GUARDIAN, Oct. 16, 2021. 30. Hai-Anh Dang, (Sr. Economist, World Bank), DOES GDP
Retrieved Oct. 10, 2022 from Nexis Uni. Phrases that feature GROWTH NECESSITATE ENVIRONMENTAL
ecological civilisation are everywhere now in Chinese media, DEGRADATION?, Jan. 14, 2020. Retrieved Oct. 11, 2022 from
says Ma Jun, a Beijing-based environmental campaigner and a https://blogs.worldbank.org/opendata/does-gdp-growth-
former investigative journalist. Ma's writing on pollution helped necessitate-environmental-degradation Certain countries clearly
spark an environmental awakening in China in the early 2000s. exhibit a tradeoff between economic growth and environmental
His book, China's Water Crisis - published in China in 1999 and quality. For example, China’s economic growth has significantly
in the west in 2004 - detailed the suffering of communities reduced poverty in recent decades, enabling it to join the ranks
caused by pollution, which had largely been accepted as the of upper-middle income countries. Unfortunately, its economic
price of economic development. He said: "Chinese people are success has been paired with dramatic declines in air quality; in
getting increasingly more affluent and they want a safe and fact, its air pollution has worsened at a much faster pace than its
sound environment. We are entering a new phase in human speed of economic growth.
development. For the Industrial Revolution, man gained all this
power to conquer and transform nature. But this new civilisation 31. Lindsay Maizland, (Analyst, Council on Foreign Relations),
means that we need to try to live in harmony with nature. CHINA’S FIGHT AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE AND
Mountains, rivers, forests, farmland, lakes, wetlands and ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION, May 19, 2021. Retrieved
grasslands: they are all part of a community. For an ecological Oct. 10, 2022 from https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/china-
civilisation, we must try to tackle the pollution of air, water and climate-change-policies-environmental-degradation China’s
soil." environmental crisis, the result of decades of rapid
industrialization, not only threatens the health and livelihoods of
26. PRETORIA NEWS, Mar. 23, 2022. Retrieved Oct. 10, 2022 the country’s 1.4 billion people but also the global fight against
from Nexis Uni. By most measures, the People’s Republic of climate change. As the world’s largest source of greenhouse gas
China (PRC) has been successful in its concerted fight against emissions in recent years, China suffers from notoriously bad air
pollution, building a green and harmonious homeland for its pollution. Its carbon-intensive industries have caused additional
citizens. In the memorable expression of President Xi Jinping, environmental challenges, including water scarcity and soil
delivered at the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to contamination. And, like the rest of the world, China will face
the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15), “going green is increasingly harsh consequences of climate change in the
gold”. Why is the promotion of coexistence between humanity coming decades, including flooding and droughts.
and nature important in the PRC? What informs President Xi’s
emphasis on a “sound ecology and environment as not just a 32. Steven Lee Myers, (Staff, New York Times), AS CHINA
natural asset, but also an economic asset”? Which are the BOOMED, IT DIDN’T TAKE CLIMATE CHANGE INTO
lessons that can possibly be learnt by South Africa from the ACCOUNT. NOW IT MUST, July 26, 2021. Retrieved Oct. 11,
China experience aimed at protection and preservation of nature 2022 from
and its ecosystems? https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/26/world/asia/china-climate-
change.html China’s breakneck growth over the last four
27. PRETORIA NEWS, Mar. 23, 2022. Retrieved Oct. 10, 2022 decades erected soaring cities where there had been hamlets
from Nexis Uni. In an example of decisive leadership, the and farmland. The cities lured factories, and the factories lured
Communist Party of China (CPC) has imposed a 10-year ban on workers. The boom lifted hundreds of millions of people out of
fishing in the Yangtze River. Across China, measures aimed at the poverty and rural hardship they once faced. Now those cities
restoration of harmony between humanity and nature have seen face the daunting new challenge of adapting to extreme weather
aquatic and wildlife returning, such as finless porpoises, Asian caused by climate change, a possibility that few gave much
elephants, crested ibis, Siberian tigers, milu deer and Bryde’s thought to when the country began its extraordinary economic
whales. Other progressive measures introduced by President Xi transformation. China’s pell-mell, brisk urbanization has in some
include the earmarking of 1.5 billion yuan (about R3.5bn) for a ways made the challenge harder to face.
biodiversity protection fund. At the September 2021 UN summit,
he promised that the PRC would not build abroad any more coal- 33. Federico Demaria, (Ecological Economist at Environmental
fired power projects. Science and Technology Institute), ECONOMIC GROWTH IS
NOT COMPATIBLE WITH ENVIRONMENTAL
28. Yu Hai, (Deputy Dir., Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought SUSTAINABILITY, Apr. 17, 2018. Retrieved Oct. 11, 2022 from
on Ecological Civilization), DAILY NEWS, Sept. 24, 2022. https://www.sdgwatcheurope.org/economic-growth-is-not-
Retrieved Oct. 10, 2022 from Nexis Uni. Ecological civilization is compatible-with-environmental-sustainability/ Economic growth
a historical trend of the development of human civilizations. is presented as the panacea that can solve any of the world
Setting out on a new journey toward building a modern socialist problems: poverty, inequality, sustainability, etc. You name it.
country and realizing its Second Centenary Goal, China will Left wing and right wing policies only differ on how to achieve it.
remain committed to the harmonious co-existence between However, there is an uncomfortable scientific truth that has to be
human and nature, promoting low-carbon green growth, tackling faced: Economic growth is environmentally unsustainable.
pollution, and accelerating the modernization of the
environmental governance system and capabilities. Efforts will 34. Federico Demaria, (Ecological Economist at Environmental
also be made to level up environmental protections in order to Science and Technology Institute), ECONOMIC GROWTH IS
drive high-quality development, create quality life for the people, NOT COMPATIBLE WITH ENVIRONMENTAL
increase people’s wealth, bolster national strength and make SUSTAINABILITY, Apr. 17, 2018. Retrieved Oct. 11, 2022 from
China ever more beautiful. https://www.sdgwatcheurope.org/economic-growth-is-not-
compatible-with-environmental-sustainability/ Science
29. Yu Hai, (Deputy Dir., Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought sometimes bring bad news. An article recently published in
on Ecological Civilization), DAILY NEWS, Sept. 24, 2022. Nature Sustainability argues that: “No country in the world meets
Retrieved Oct. 10, 2022 from Nexis Uni. Human beings share a the basic needs of its citizens at a globally sustainable level of
common future in the face of rising ecological and environmental resource use.” The question then is: How can the conditions for
challenges. While managing its own ecological environment, a good life for all within planetary boundaries be generated? The
China implements the Convention on Biological Diversity and its uncomfortable truth to be faced by policy makers is the following:
protocols, providing support and assistance for other developing Economic growth is ecologically unsustainable.
countries to reinforce their environmental and biodiversity
protection capabilities through the multilateral cooperation
mechanism under the Belt and Road Initiative and boosting
South-South cooperation.
34
35. Lindsay Maizland, (Analyst, Council on Foreign Relations), 40. Lindsay Maizland, (Analyst, Council on Foreign Relations),
CHINA’S FIGHT AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE AND CHINA’S FIGHT AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE AND
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION, May 19, 2021. Retrieved ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION, May 19, 2021. Retrieved
Oct. 10, 2022 from https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/china- Oct. 10, 2022 from https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/china-
climate-change-policies-environmental-degradation China’s climate-change-policies-environmental-degradation The
staggering pace of urbanization has also contributed. government’s failure to meaningfully address pollution could lead
Urbanization increases energy demands to power new citizens to question the legitimacy of China’s leaders and political
manufacturing and industrial centers, and construction of these system, he writes. Indeed, as public awareness of environmental
centers relies on high energy–consuming products such as degradation has increased over the past two decades, public
cement and steel. Another contributor is the increase in cars on dissatisfaction and the number of petitions and protests have
the road: In 2018, people in China owned 240 million vehicles, grown. Citizens have organized hundreds of protests, including
up from about 27 million in 2004. in the cities of Guangdong, Kunming, Shanghai, and Wuhan. In
2013, the number of “abrupt environmental incidents,” including
36. Lindsay Maizland, (Analyst, Council on Foreign Relations), protests, rose to 712, a 31 percent jump from the previous year.
CHINA’S FIGHT AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE AND Citizen petitions related to environmental issues increased from
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION, May 19, 2021. Retrieved 1.05 million in 2011 to 1.77 million in 2015.
Oct. 10, 2022 from https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/china-
climate-change-policies-environmental-degradation Air pollution. 41. Paul Harris, (Staff), HONG KONG FREE PRESS, July 10,
Increased public awareness of China’s notoriously low air quality 2022. Retrieved Oct. 10, 2022 from Nexis Uni. The instrumental
in the past decade—especially after Beijing suffered a prolonged value of China’s water resources does not mean that they have
bout of smog in 2013 that was so severe that citizens dubbed it been treated with great care. Quite the contrary: China’s lakes,
an “airpocalypse”—has sparked government action. A plan rivers and wetlands have not been spared the wider
released later in 2013 ordered cities to lower concentrations of environmental impacts of rapid economic growth. Those impacts
tiny hazardous particles known as PM2.5 and directed local have been predominantly negative, often extremely so.
governments to implement tougher controls on pollution and coal Examples include China’s role in the global scourge of plastic, its
use. As a result, much of China has seen a significant drop in air negative effects on global fisheries and forests, and its
pollution. But many regions continue to experience stretches of gargantuan (and growing) emissions of carbon dioxide and other
extreme pollution, and hundreds of mostly northern cities still greenhouse gases that are driving global warming and climate
suffer from high levels of PM2.5. change.
37. Lindsay Maizland, (Analyst, Council on Foreign Relations), 42. Paul Harris, (Staff), HONG KONG FREE PRESS, July 10,
CHINA’S FIGHT AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE AND 2022. Retrieved Oct. 10, 2022 from Nexis Uni. China’s rivers are
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION, May 19, 2021. Retrieved also choked by tens of thousands of dams. Half of the world’s
Oct. 10, 2022 from https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/china- dams are in China but for its government, that’s not enough. To
climate-change-policies-environmental-degradation Water meet growing domestic demand for electricity, it has in recent
insecurity. China is home to about 20 percent of the world’s decades been implementing what Yifei Li and Judith Shapiro
population but only 7 percent of its freshwater sources. Overuse describe as a “top-down, mandate-driven dam-building spree”
has led to severe shortages, and industry along China’s major across the country. Increasing hydroelectric generating capacity,
water sources has polluted supplies. Construction of hydropower which is already more than three times that of any other country,
dams along major rivers has also damaged ecosystems. The is part of China’s plan to increase electrical supply in
government released a plan in 2015 for preventing water underdeveloped provinces. Already, one-fifth of China’s
pollution that included placing controls on polluting industries. electricity comes from dams. Hydroelectricity is touted as a way
The quality of surface waters—bodies such as lakes, rivers, and to achieve President Xi Jinping’s pledge for China to become
streams—has since improved. However, groundwater continues carbon-neutral by 2060, despite questions about whether dams
to fall short of targets, with more than 80 percent categorized as are a good way to reduce emissions.
“bad to very bad.”
43. Paul Harris, (Staff), HONG KONG FREE PRESS, July 10,
38. Chen Hongbin, (Staff, ThinkChina), CHINA’S SERIOUS 2022. Retrieved Oct. 10, 2022 from Nexis Uni. China’s dams
WATER WOES, Apr. 26, 2021. Retrieved Oct. 11, 2022 from bring enormous costs to the environments of affected rivers and
Nexis Uni. Given China's immoderate use of water, some 28,000 the people who rely on them for their wellbeing and livelihoods.
rivers have disappeared since the 1980s. Crescent Lake at the Practical opposition to dams within China is limited for the same
Mogao caves in Dunhuang — a world heritage site — is drying reason that opposition to other policies is limited: when people –
up. At one point, it was only 0.7 metres deep, when it used to be journalists, filmmakers, activists – try to expose the adverse
immeasurably deep. Many coastal areas are facing the threat of impacts, they are summarily suppressed through sackings and
seawater intrusion, while Lop Nur in Xinjiang used to be the intimidation.
second largest lake in China, but now it is lifeless dry sand. Such
tragedies cannot be allowed to recur. 44. Paul Harris, (Staff), HONG KONG FREE PRESS, July 10,
2022. Retrieved Oct. 10, 2022 from Nexis Uni. Dams built and
39. Lindsay Maizland, (Analyst, Council on Foreign Relations), funded by China in other countries adversely affect ecosystems
CHINA’S FIGHT AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE AND by restricting water flow, preventing the movement of nutrients
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION, May 19, 2021. Retrieved and sediments, and stopping the natural migration of fish
Oct. 10, 2022 from https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/china- species. For example, Chinese dams on the upper Mekong –
climate-change-policies-environmental-degradation The known as the Lancang in China – have already endangered
government estimated in 2014 that nearly one-fifth of arable land dozens of fish species in Vietnam and threaten virtual extinction
is contaminated. This has consequences for China’s food of the Tonle Sap lake system in Cambodia.
security: An estimated 12 million tons of the 664 million tons of
grain produced annually are polluted by heavy metals. Chemical
factories and other industrial sites are mainly to blame, but trash,
electronic waste, rare-earth-metal mining, overuse of pesticides,
and contaminated water also contribute.
35
45. Paul Harris, (Staff), HONG KONG FREE PRESS, July 10, 51. Yu Hai, (Deputy Dir., Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought
2022. Retrieved Oct. 10, 2022 from Nexis Uni. Chinese territory on Ecological Civilization), DAILY NEWS, Sept. 24, 2022.
is the starting point for major rivers that flow into more than a Retrieved Oct. 10, 2022 from Nexis Uni. The installed and
dozen other countries, making it Asia’s upstream “water generation capacities of wind and photovoltaic power in China
controller” and giving it unmatched power to “weaponise water” ranked first globally in 2021, as well as its production and sales
against downstream countries. The major rivers of South and of new-energy vehicles. The country’s forest coverage and forest
Southeast Asia originate on the Tibetan Plateau. This has reserves have both increased for the last 30 years. A quarter of
mattered only in recent decades as China has undertaken the worlds newly-built green spaces in the period between 2000
massive dam-building projects on those rivers. It will become and 2017 were in China. The country’s Saihanba Forest Farm
even more significant in the future because global warming, and Green Rural Revival Program in Zhejiang Province both won
substantially driven by China’s carbon emissions, is melting the UNs Champions of the Earth Award.
Tibet’s glaciers. Warming of the plateau is outpacing the global
average by several times. Initially this may increase water flows, 52. Yuan Jiahai, (Prof., Economics, North China Electric Power
but eventually it may all but end the supply of water. University), CHINA DAILY, Dec. 10, 2021. Retrieved Oct. 10,
2022 from Nexis Uni. Seven Chinese companies are among the
46. Paul Harris, (Staff), HONG KONG FREE PRESS, July 10, global top 10 wind turbine manufacturers, six among the global
2022. Retrieved Oct. 10, 2022 from Nexis Uni. Countries sharing top 10 solar photovoltaic manufacturers and seven among the
the Mekong have suffered repeated droughts as China has held global top 10 battery manufacturers.
back increasing quantities of water to maximise a steady supply
of domestic hydroelectricity. Even in the years when there has 53. Yuan Jiahai, (Prof., Economics, North China Electric Power
been ample water entering the upper Mekong, downstream University), CHINA DAILY, Dec. 10, 2021. Retrieved Oct. 10,
countries have suffered droughts, proving that China’s dams are 2022 from Nexis Uni. China is the leading global renewable
to blame (rather than, say, climate change per se). In 2019 and equipment exporter and is directly driving the rapid renewable
2020, the Mekong’s water level fell to the lowest for a century, deployment globally. China accounts for 28 percent of global
largely due to Chinese dams. The Stimson Centre in solar panel exports and 13 percent of global wind turbine
Washington, D.C., reported that over a five-month period during exports. Renewable energy also plays an important role in
2019, “China’s dams held back so much water that they entirely China's foreign power projects. According to data from the
prevented the annual monsoon-driven rise in river level at Global Development Policy Center at Boston University, during
Chiang Saen, Thailand. This has not happened since modern 2000 to 2021, hydropower, wind and PV projects accounted for
records have been kept.” 36.6 percent of Chinese overseas power investment.
47. Paul Harris, (Staff), HONG KONG FREE PRESS, July 10, 54. Yujie Xue, (Staff), SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST, Jan. 3,
2022. Retrieved Oct. 10, 2022 from Nexis Uni. According to 2022. Retrieved Oct. 7, 2022 from Nexis Uni. China will continue
Stefen Lovgren, China “operates its dams in secrecy, without to be the global leader in renewable energy capacity growth over
much regard for water flow downstream.” It considers data on the next five years, despite phasing out subsidies and the
water management to be a state secret. Downstream countries country's heavy reliance on coal, analysts say. The global
often experience unannounced stoppages of water flow, causing renewable energy sector saw strong growth in the past two
major disruptions to agriculture, fisheries and river transport, years, with new generation capacity reaching nearly 280
followed by unannounced torrents, resulting in flooding and gigawatts in 2020, about 45 per cent more than in 2019, marking
economic hardship. the highest year-on-year increase since 1999, the International
Energy Agency (IEA) said. Driven by stronger policy support and
48. Halley Herbst, (JD Candidate), FORDHAM ambitious climate targets, global renewable electricity capacity is
INTERNATIONAL LAW JOURNAL, May 2022, 946. China and forecast to increase by more than 60 per cent between 2020 and
the United States released a surprising joint statement at 2026, reaching more than 4,800GW. Renewables will account
COP26, pledging to work together, as the largest global emitters for 90 per cent of new power capacity expansion in 2022,
of greenhouse gases, to curb emissions and transition to cleaner according to the IEA. Development of photovoltaic solar
energy sources. China has the infrastructure to support a technology will also continue to break records, with annual
transition to renewables and currently stands as one of the additions reaching 162GW by 2022 - almost 50 per cent higher
world's largest suppliers of renewable energy technologies. than in 2019.
49. HINDUSTAN TIMES, APR. 21, 2021. Retrieved Oct. 10, 55. Zheng Xin, (Staff), CHINA DAILY, July 12, 2022. Retrieved
2022 from Nexis Uni. "To date, only one major Chinese tech Oct. 10, 2022 from Nexis Uni. An analyst said China has been
company, data centre operator Chindata Group, has pledged to leading in renewable energy production figures for years and it is
achieve carbon neutrality by 2030. Last year, Chindata signed also currently the world's largest producer of wind and solar
contracts to develop 1.3GW of wind and solar projects in Shanxi energy, as well as the largest domestic and outbound investor in
and Hebei provinces, making the company one of the top three renewable energy.
renewable energy buyers worldwide in 2020," the report says.
56. Zheng Xin, (Staff), CHINA DAILY, July 12, 2022. Retrieved
50. Tonderay Mukeredzi, (Staff), CHINA DAILY, Nov. 26, 2021. Oct. 10, 2022 from Nexis Uni. China has also developed a
Retrieved Oct. 7, 2022 from Nexis Uni. As the world's largest complete industrial system of renewable energy technology
producer of solar photovoltaic and wind power equipment, and during the past 10 years. It is now capable of independently
with a domestic track record of rapid capacity expansion and designing and manufacturing the world's largest megawatt-scale
utilization, experts said China is well-placed to take advantage of hydraulic turbine set while solar power generation technology
the emerging renewable energy market on the African continent. has also witnessed rapid development and 10 MW offshore wind
China's announcement at the UNGA to stop funding coal turbines have also entered volume production. As a result, the
projects overseas is seen as giving political impetus to Chinese scale of development and utilization of renewable energy in the
investments in the renewable energy sector in Africa. country was equivalent to 753 million metric tons of standard
coal last year, reducing 2.07 billion tons of carbon dioxide,
400,000 tons of sulfur dioxide and 450,000 tons of nitrogen
oxide.
36
57. Zheng Xin, (Staff), CHINA DAILY, July 8, 2022. Retrieved 63. World Bank, COUNTRY CLIMATE AND DEVELOPMENT
Oct. 10, 2022 from Nexis Uni. While fossil fuels still account for a REPORT (CCDR) FOR CHINA, Oct. 12, 2022. Retrieved Oct.
relatively large proportion of China's energy mix, the share of 13, 2022 from https://reliefweb.int/report/china/country-climate-
renewable energy has climbed steadily over the past few years, and-development-report-ccdr-china-enzh Climate change poses
thanks to technological advances and reduced costs. China's a significant threat to China’s long-term prosperity. At the same
installed capacity of renewable energy reached 930 million time, the country is well positioned to meet its climate
kilowatts by the end of 2020, accounting for 42.4 percent of the commitments and transition to a greener economy while meeting
country's total. its development goals, according to a World Bank Group report
released today.
58. Zheng Xin, (Staff), CHINA DAILY, July 8, 2022. Retrieved
Oct. 10, 2022 from Nexis Uni. According to the China 64. Halley Herbst, (JD Candidate), FORDHAM
Renewable Energy Society, the per-kilowatt-hour cost of INTERNATIONAL LAW JOURNAL, May 2022, 919. Inspectors
electricity generated by onshore wind in China declined about 40 from China's Ministry of Environmental Protection fined and, in
percent from 2010 to 2020. Most of the newly built wind farms some cases, criminally charged more than eighty thousand
have also achieved grid parity, it said. China's offshore wind factories. Entire manufacturing provinces shut down, resulting in
generation cost has declined about 53 percent during that period many brands exporting their supply chains to other countries
and is expected to achieve grid parity in three years, it said. "The including Bangladesh and India to fulfill orders. Some argued
high oil price crisis will accelerate the energy transition," Marcel this crackdown pressures factories to improve their concerning
van Poecke, managing director of Carlyle International Energy environmental practices, forcing them to comply with stricter
Partners, was quoted by news portal Politico as saying. "People regulations.
will say we don't want to be dependent on imported high-priced
oil anymore." 65. Halley Herbst, (JD Candidate), FORDHAM
INTERNATIONAL LAW JOURNAL, May 2022, 919. China
59. Zheng Xin, (Staff), CHINA DAILY, July 8, 2022. Retrieved implemented a new Environmental Protection Tax that went into
Oct. 10, 2022 from Nexis Uni. In recent years, China has been effect on January 1, 2018. Under the new tax law, violators are
stepping up the development of renewable energy, including disciplined by China's tax bureaus, rather than the environmental
solar and wind power, making tremendous achievements in the bureau. China's tax bureaus are known to stand as "powerful
sector as the country aims to reach carbon peak by 2030 and entities backed up by rigorous laws that, when violated, are
carbon neutrality by 2060. typically met with aggressive local enforcement." The new policy
aims to reduce pollutant discharge by implementing more
60. Zhu Tong, (Dir., Energy Economics Department, Institute of effective enforcement measures.
Industrial Economics at the Chinese Academy of Social
Sciences), CHINA DAILY, Jan. 20, 2021. Retrieved Oct. 10, 66. HINDUSTAN TIMES, APR. 21, 2021. Retrieved Oct. 10,
2022 from Nexis Uni. The use of renewable energy has helped 2022 from Nexis Uni. Chinese President Xi Jinping has pledged
China significantly reduce its carbon dioxide emissions. China to bring the country's climate-warming emissions to a peak
generated 2.02 trillion kilowatt-hours of renewable energy in before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, committing
2019, and resulted in 1.65 billion tons of gross avoided CO2 the country to an accelerated transition to renewable energy. As
emissions. The cost of wind and photovoltaic (PV) power of April 2021, 13 of China's 22 biggest tech companies have
generation has dropped dramatically, prompting the government begun to actively procure renewable energy, compared to just
to withdraw subsidies at an accelerated pace. In fact, PV and eight companies in 2019.
wind-generated electricity can now be connected to the State
grid at parity price in most regions, so subsidies for PV power 67. Hou Liqiang, (Staff), CHINA DAILY, June 6, 2022. Retrieved
generation and onshore wind-generated electricity were Oct. 10, 2022 from Nexis Uni. Martin Lees, former UN assistant
withdrawn by the end of 2020. secretary general, lauded China for the rapid progress it has
made in tackling climate change. "When China realized that it
61. Seema Jayachandran, (Prof., Economics, Northwestern was vulnerable to climate change－when it became an issue for
University), HOW TO PROMOTE GROWTH AND PROTECT China itself － they moved pretty rapidly and very intelligently to
THE PLANET, Feb. 10, 2022. Retrieved Oct. 11, 2022 from tackle the problem," he said. Lees is also a former member of
https://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/news_ext_content/ifc_exter the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment
nal_corporate_site/news+and+events/news/insights/how-to- and Development, a high-level central government think tank. He
promote-growth-and-protect-the-planet I think the world really said an integrated strategy to address climate change was
needs to be prioritizing reductions in carbon emissions, but at developed throughout the government, with a leading group of
the same time, half the world is living on less than $10 a day. I ministers established to implement the strategy.
think a simple piece of advice is to shift the burden of who's
paying for mitigation of climate change toward wealthier 68. Erik Solheim, (President, Belt and Road Initiative Green
countries that can afford it. We want emissions to be lower, but it Development Institute & Former Dir., UN Environment
shouldn't be an equal burden across countries. It should be Programme), CHINA DAILY, Sept. 19, 2022. Retrieved Oct. 15,
based on both ability to pay, but also acknowledging that rich 2022 from Nexis Uni. The Belt and Road International Green
countries have contributed more to climate change. Development Coalition serves as a global platform to boost
green cooperation. Singapore, for example, is sharing its world-
62. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, (Chair and President, Global leading green technologies, green-finance practice, and city-
Green Growth Institute), ECONOMIC GROWTH CAN building experience in transforming itself from a "mudflat" into a
COMPLEMENT ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION, June 15, garden city and the envy of the region. Singapore today is one of
2022. Retrieved Oct. 11, 2022 from the greenest cities in the world.
https://www.oecd.org/greengrowth/economic-growth-can-
complement-environmental-conservation.htm I believe we can
look to the experience of my own country, Indonesia, as an
example of how, through wise policymaking and enough political
will, countries can tackle both the challenges of climate change
and inclusive economic development. Indonesia has in recent
years embraced green growth policies that place great emphasis
on the value of natural resources and the environment, on the
eradication of poverty through the creation of jobs, while at the
same time ensuring equitable and sustainable economic growth.
37
69. Zhang Jing, (Project Lead, Energy Investment Project, 75. Chen Jiahe, (Chief Investment Officer at Novem Arcae
Greenpeace), CHINA DAILY, Jan. 20, 2022. Retrieved Oct. 10, Technologies), STABILITY OF CHINESE ECONOMY IS VITAL
2022 from Nexis Uni. China's investment in renewable energy is TO THE WORLD, Aug. 25, 2020. Retrieved Oct. 11, 2022 from
expected to inject impetus into the green and low-carbon https://news.cgtn.com/news/2020-08-25/Stability-of-Chinese-
development of developing countries involved in the Belt and economy-is-vital-to-the-world-TfrxketWEM/index.html As China's
Road Initiative. Recent research from Greenpeace East Asia's economy is now an essential cornerstone of the global economy,
Beijing office shows that by 2030 China has the potential to its stability is critical to the maintaining and recovery of the global
generate between 226.56 gigawatts and 679.69 GW of solar economy amid the devastating impact caused by the
power and between 8.85 GW and 26.55 GW of wind power in coronavirus. COVID-19 has caused a significant slowdown for
those countries. A co-benefit analysis showed this potential the industries that depend heavily upon consumption and
investment will create between 150,000 and 310,000 new jobs. generate a lot of employment, such as the film industry, catering
and restaurants, etc.
70. Erik Solheim, (President, Belt and Road Initiative Green
Development Institute & Former Dir., UN Environment 76. Dan Steinbock, (Dir., Difference Group), THE QUEST TO
Programme), CHINA DAILY, Sept. 19, 2022. Retrieved Oct. 15, CONTAIN CHINA, AT THE RISK OF GLOBAL DEPRESSION,
2022 from Nexis Uni. President Xi Jinping promoted the concept Aug. 26, 2022. Retrieved Oct. 12, 2022 from
of an "ecological civilization" for balanced and sustainable https://www.chinausfocus.com/finance-economy/the-quest-to-
development featuring harmonious coexistence between man contain-china-at-the-risk-of-global-depression Before the Trump
and nature. The concept brings us a very different way of trade wars, China replaced the U.S. as the engine of the world
thinking. The three-fold planetary crisis of nature, climate and the economy. Between 2013 and 2018, it accounted for 28 percent
environment is cross-border. China's decision to stop building of all growth worldwide on average. The IMF data suggested that
new coal-fired power plants abroad provides a huge opportunity China would account for a similar share of growth over the next
for massive investments in solar, wind, and green hydrogen in 5 years. Most importantly, China was also pulling along many of
the ASEAN countries. the world’s middle- and smaller-size economies in its train.
Today, this great project is threatened.
71. Chen Jia, (Staff), CHINA DAILY, Oct. 28, 2021. Retrieved
Oct. 10, 2022 from Nexis Uni. Finance can play an active role in 77. Dan Steinbock, (Dir., Difference Group), THE QUEST TO
response to climate change issues, especially in areas such as CONTAIN CHINA, AT THE RISK OF GLOBAL DEPRESSION,
improving the carbon pricing mechanism, coordinating green Aug. 26, 2022. Retrieved Oct. 12, 2022 from
classification standards, promoting the mandatory disclosure of https://www.chinausfocus.com/finance-economy/the-quest-to-
climate-related information and mobilizing market funds to contain-china-at-the-risk-of-global-depression China’s rise as a
support green transformation global growth engine is reflected by the expansion of its
economy relative to other major global growth engines; i.e., the
72. Chen Jia, (Staff), CHINA DAILY, Oct. 28, 2021. Retrieved United States, the largest European economies (Germany,
Oct. 10, 2022 from Nexis Uni. "Finance can play an active role in France, UK, and Italy), and Japan. There are two basic ways to
response to climate change issues, especially in areas such as assess that contribution. Market exchange rates are more
improving the carbon pricing mechanism, coordinating green realistic in international transactions. In this view, China passed
classification standards, promoting the mandatory disclosure of Japan as a global growth engine around 2010, Europe-4 in the
climate-related information and mobilizing market funds to mid-2010s and is positioned to surpass the U.S. at the end of the
support green transformation," Yi Gang, governor of the People's 2020s.
Bank of China, said at the European Union's first sustainable
investment summit in October. 78. GLOBAL TIMES, Dec. 31, 2021. Retrieved Oct. 10, 2022
from Nexis Uni. China has been the stabilizer of world economic
73. Lindsay Maizland, (Analyst, Council on Foreign Relations), growth. In the context of the pandemic of the century, "recovery"
CHINA’S FIGHT AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE AND has become the key word for the world economy. The
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION, May 19, 2021. Retrieved International Monetary Fund in October projected that the global
Oct. 10, 2022 from https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/china- economy would grow by 5.9 percent in 2021, its strongest post-
climate-change-policies-environmental-degradation As climate recession pace since data was available. In the same report,
change and environmental degradation became a top priority for IMF projected that China would see 8 percent growth. As the
the Chinese government, it participated more in global climate world's second-largest economy, China has become the "driving
talks, eventually becoming “a leader on climate change,” write force" and "stabilizer" of world economic growth based on its
CFR Fellows Yanzhong Huang and Joshua Kurlantzick. In 2016, own high-quality development.
China announced its participation in the Paris Agreement, and in
the years since, it has ramped up its commitments. 79. Ouyang Shijia, (News), CHINA DAILY, Sept. 15, 2022.
Retrieved Oct. 10, 2022 from Nexis Uni. China is playing an
74. Xu Wei, (Staff), CHINA DAILY, Nov. 14, 2021. Retrieved Oct. increasingly important role in driving global economic recovery
10, 2022 from Nexis Uni. President Xi Jinping reiterated the amid fears over a gloomy world economic outlook and pressures
need to focus on concrete actions in response to the climate from COVID-19 outbreaks and geopolitical tensions, experts
crisis, saying that China will foster a green, low-carbon, and said.
circular economic system at a faster pace, press ahead with
industrial structure adjustment, and rein in the irrational growth of 80. Ouyang Shijia, (News), CHINA DAILY, Sept. 15, 2022.
energy-intensive and high-emissions projects "Visions will come Retrieved Oct. 10, 2022 from Nexis Uni. Sang Baichuan, dean of
true only when we act on them," he said. "We will speed up the the Institute of International Economy at the University of
transition to green and low-carbon energy, vigorously develop International Business and Economics, said China has been
renewable energy, and plan and build large wind and playing a crucial role in driving global economic growth during
photovoltaic power stations." the past few years. "China has managed to achieve sustained
and healthy economic development despite the impact of
COVID-19," Sang added. "And the country has played a key role
in maintaining the smooth operation of the global supply chain."
38
81. Yujie Xue, (Staff), SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST, Jan. 3, 86. Xu Wei, (Staff), CHINA DAILY, Nov. 14, 2021. Retrieved Oct.
2022. Retrieved Oct. 7, 2022 from Nexis Uni. For several years, 10, 2022 from Nexis Uni. China has topped the global new-
China has been at the centre of global supply and demand for energy vehicle market since 2015, and the nation's forest
renewable energy, leading it to account for about 40 per cent of coverage rose sharply, from a mere 8.6 percent in 1949 to 23.04
capacity growth from 2015 to 2020. It was followed by Europe, percent by the end of 2020, according to official statistics.
the US and India. The four markets together accounted for 80
per cent of global capacity growth for the period, and are 87. BUSINESS STANDARD, Oct. 19, 2021. Retrieved Oct. 10,
projected to increase that hold to 87 per cent between 2021 and 2022 from Nexis Uni. This shift in China's economic strategy will
2026. China's share jumped 50 per cent for the first time in 2020 have a significant impact on the global economy. For several
amid a rush to finish projects before government subsidies were years now, China's economic growth has constituted about 30
phased out. per cent of the global economic growth. A slower rate in the
coming years, which is inevitable if Xi persists with his new
82. Hou Liqiang, (Staff), CHINA DAILY, June 6, 2022. Retrieved policies, will mean slower growth for the global economy.
Oct. 10, 2022 from Nexis Uni. [Xie Zhenhua, China's special
envoy for climate change affairs] said that despite being a 88. John Power, (Staff, Al Jazeera News), AS CHINA’S
developing country itself, China has made persistent efforts to PROPERTY CRISIS GROWS, IS THE GLOBAL ECONOMY AT
help poor nations in their climate actions. Since 2011, for RISK?, Aug. 30, 2022. Retrieved Oct. 11, 2022 from
example, China has allocated 1.2 billion yuan ($176.8 million) for https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/8/30/what-chinas-
South-South cooperation on climate change. To date, China has property-crisis In a 2019 study by the United States Federal
signed 41 collaboration agreements on climate change with 36 Reserve, economists estimated that an 8.5 percent fall in
developing countries. It has also provided training programs for China’s GDP would result in a 3.25 percent drop in advanced
some 2,000 officials and technicians in climate-related posts economies and nearly 6 percent decline in emerging economies.
from 120 nations. Xie said, "Five decades after the Stockholm 89. John Power, (Staff, Al Jazeera News), AS CHINA’S
Conference, no matter what happens internationally, no matter PROPERTY CRISIS GROWS, IS THE GLOBAL ECONOMY AT
what challenges confront nations around the world, China will RISK?, Aug. 30, 2022. Retrieved Oct. 11, 2022 from
stick to its steadfast resolve to tackle climate change and be an https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/8/30/what-chinas-
important participant, contributor and torchbearer in global property-crisis But the size of China’s economy, which accounts
endeavors for an ecological civilization." for almost one-fifth of global GDP, means a major slowdown
83. Yujie Xue, (Staff), SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST, Jan. 3, could still have a serious effect on global growth.
2022. Retrieved Oct. 7, 2022 from Nexis Uni. The People's Bank 90. Kimberly Amadeo, (President, Money Watch), CHINA’S
of China introduced in November a new facility to offer cheap ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN AND HOW IT AFFECTS YOU, May
funding to banks to subsidise lending to green projects, which 2, 2022. Retrieved Oct. 11, 2022 from
include those involving renewable energy. PBOC governor Yi https://www.thebalancemoney.com/how-would-china-s-
Gang said in an interview this month with Xinhua that the first slowdown-affect-the-global-economy-1979076 China's economy
batch of funds would be issued to banks by the end of 2021. has enjoyed decades of double-digit growth, thanks to its low-
Analysts are optimistic about the outlook of the renewable cost exports of machinery, equipment, and consumer products.
energy sector in 2022, with wind and solar capacity buildout As a result, China is the world's largest economy. In 2020, it
maintaining strong momentum despite the subsidies phase-out. contributed $23.01 trillion, or 18.3%, of the world's $125.65
"We'll still see relatively rapid expansions [in the renewables trillion in gross domestic product (GDP). This size means that
sector] in 2022," said Lin Boqiang, dean of Xiamen University's any slowdown in China’s economy affects the whole world.
China Institute for Studies in Energy Policy.
91. Clark Packard, (Research Fellow, Cato Institute), AS
84. Erik Solheim, (President, Belt and Road Initiative Green CHINA’S ECONOMY FALTERS, BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU
Development Institute & Former Dir., UN Environment WISH FOR, May 31, 2022. Retrieved Oct. 11, 2022 from
Programme), CHINA DAILY, Sept. 19, 2022. Retrieved Oct. 15, https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/05/31/china-xi-economy-covid-
2022 from Nexis Uni. Supercharged by the newly-effective lockdown-geopolitics/ Finally, the Chinese Communist Party
Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the region is derives much of its legitimacy from continuing to grow the
linked via land and maritime corridors. These corridors are fast economy and raise the country’s standard of living. If a
going green. Modern transportation systems not only increase significant economic downturn thus threatens to weaken the
the efficiency of transport and boosting economy, but help party’s hold on power, one likely result would be an even more
reduce emissions. The China-Laos Railway delivered more than aggressive, nationalist foreign policy. There’s nothing like a little
4 million metric tons of freight as of early June this year, hugely jingoism and war to draw attention away from domestic troubles.
helping landlocked Laos to link to global markets and increase
cross-border tourism. By the end of 2021, China's operating 92. Alan Parreport, (Staff, New York Times), A WARNING FOR
mileage of high-speed railways exceeded 40,000 kilometers, THE WORLD ECONOMY, Oct. 11, 2022. Retrieved Oct. 12,
accounting for more than two-thirds of the global total, and it is 2022 from https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/11/business/imf-
sharing its knowhow with ASEAN countries. world-economy-forecast.html The slowdowns in advanced
economies are putting pressure on emerging markets, many of
85. Wen Sheng, (Staff), GLOBAL TIMES, Apr. 25, 2022. which were already fragile and facing high debt burdens as they
Retrieved Oct. 10, 2022 from Nexis Uni. Facing mounting recovered from the pandemic. Higher interest rates, soaring food
headwinds to stabilize economic growth, China still has space to costs and diminished demand for exports threaten to push
ramp up policy support, fiscal stimulus in particular, to fire up millions of people into poverty. And low vaccination rates in
economic activity by stimulating market demand and supply, places such as Africa mean that the health effects of the
which has shown clear signs of weakness recently. To work in pandemic are persistent. “The poor are hurt the most,” David
tandem, the country needs to remove a lingering dilemma Malpass, the president of the World Bank, told reporters before
surrounding control of the COVID-19 pandemic. A balance this week’s meetings. “We’re in the midst of a crisis-facing
between coronavirus suppression and economic development development.”
ought to be struck, promptly, as the highly infectious but less
lethal Omicron variant keeps spreading sporadically around the
country.
39
93. Clark Packard, (Research Fellow, Cato Institute), AS
CHINA’S ECONOMY FALTERS, BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU
WISH FOR, May 31, 2022. Retrieved Oct. 11, 2022 from
https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/05/31/china-xi-economy-covid-
lockdown-geopolitics/ With a major land war raging in Europe,
the U.S. economy softening, and China’s ever more visible
problems, the risk of a global recession is increasing. As Harvard
University economist Kenneth Rogoff recently reminded us, “a
collapse in one region will raise the odds of collapse in the
others.”
94. Dan Steinbock, (Dir., Difference Group), THE QUEST TO
CONTAIN CHINA, AT THE RISK OF GLOBAL DEPRESSION,
Aug. 26, 2022. Retrieved Oct. 12, 2022 from
https://www.chinausfocus.com/finance-economy/the-quest-to-
contain-china-at-the-risk-of-global-depression In the next
recession, as Nouriel Roubini has suggested, “the crash in
equity markets could be closer to 50%.” The assumption is the
crisis will prove both stagflationary and be accompanied by a
financial crisis.
95. Edward Alden, (Staff), FOREIGN POLICY, June 14, 2022.
Retrieved Oct. 11, 2022 from
https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/06/14/inflation-stock-market-
economic-crisis-trade-wto-ukraine-energy-food-shortages-fed-
central-banks/ The current concatenation of problems—the
Russia-Ukraine war, inflation, global food and energy shortages,
unwinding asset bubbles in the United States, debt crises in
developing countries, and the lingering impacts of COVID-19-
related shutdowns and supply chain bottlenecks—may be the
most serious crisis of them all, not least because central banks
can’t print wheat and gasoline.
96. Su-Lin Tan, (Staff, CNBC News), UN WARNS THAT THE
WORLD IS ON THE BRINK OF RECESSION, Oct. 4, 2022.
Retrieved Oct. 12, 2022 from
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/04/unctad-warns-that-asia-
global-economy-headed-for-a-recession.html A global slowdown
could potentially inflict worse damage than the financial crisis in
2008 and the Covid-19 shock in 2020, warned the UNCTAD in
its Trade and Development Report 2022. “All regions will be
affected, but alarm bells are ringing most for developing
countries, many of which are edging closer to debt default,” the
report said.

2022-23 - NSDA - 2 - China Envronment Vs Growth

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1

LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATE RESEARCH SERIES

RESOLVED: THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA OUGHT TO PRIORITIZE

ANALYSIS OF THE TOPIC

A FEW WORDS ABOUT THE PROPER USE OF BAYLOR BRIEFS IN LD DEBATE

AFFIRMATIVE CASE #1: GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE

III. SOLUTIONS ARE AVAILABLE IF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION IS GIVEN PRIORITY.

AFFIRMATIVE CASE #2: ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION IS A PRECONDITION FOR

AFFIRMATIVE CASE #3: PRESERVING HUMAN LIFE

D. MILLIONS OF CHINESE CITIZENS DIE EVERY YEAR BECAUSE OF ENVIRONMENTAL NEGLECT.

NEGATIVE CASE #1: NO NEED TO CHOOSE – GROWTH CAN COEXIST WITH

B. CHINA ALSO LEADS THE WORLD IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF RENEWABLE ENERGY

C. CHINA HAS DEMONSTRATED THAT ECONOMIC GROWTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION DO

F. CHINA HAS TURNED THE CORNER ON ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION.

NEGATIVE CASE #2: RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT IS PRIMARY

NEGATIVE CASE #3: ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION ON CLIMATE IS THE DUTY OF

C. DEVELOPED COUNTRIES HAVE FAILED TO DELIVER ON THEIR CLIMATE ACTION PROMISES.

C. CHINA PROVIDES KEY INVESTMENT DOLLARS FOR GREEN ENERGY DEVELOPMENT.

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