China and Climate Change: From Skepticism to Leadership

The article analyzes the evolution of China's position on climate change. Previously, the country treated this issue with skepticism, but now it leads a group of 134 developing nations, promoting its approach that prioritizes planetary preservation over economic interests.


China and Climate Change: From Skepticism to Leadership

It is truly a stunning experience. In the beginning (from the turn of the third millennium), China, despite showing signs of its future dominance in the global economy (according to some Western studies, by 2030), dealt with the climate issue with skepticism and distrust. The point is that the rise of this issue in the late 1980s (in 1988, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change - IPCC was created) was initiated by Western countries. China believed that its climate narrative, which prioritizes preserving the planet over its interests and those of its corporations, was difficult to take seriously. Moreover, through the '77'+China group, China led 134 countries...