Imperative New Leadership: China’s Rising Role in the War Against Climate Change

Payne Institute student George Goldade writes about how following the Paris Climate Accords and several other global commitments to face climate change, Xi Jinping, the president of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), announced in September of 2020 that the PRC was committing to be carbon neutral by 2060. Foreshadowed by China’s accelerated growth industrially, economically, and politically throughout the last half century, China is now the largest consumer of energy and highest carbon emitter worldwide. This paper explores China’s role in the fight against climate change economically and politically, and consequently discusses the necessity of commitment and leadership from China in order to combat and conquer climate change. June 17, 2021.