Home Systemic Rivalry of China and the West in Climate Policy
Article
Licensed
Unlicensed Requires Authentication

Systemic Rivalry of China and the West in Climate Policy

  • Guntram Wolff ORCID logo EMAIL logo
Published/Copyright: September 21, 2023
The Economists’ Voice
From the journal The Economists’ Voice Volume 20 Issue 2

Abstract

This article outlines how the systemic rivalry between the West and China is preventing effective collaboration in the fight against climate change. Three approaches are suggested that can help the West achieve tangible action in the sphere of climate policy. First, the West must build up pressure points such as CBAM or even tariffs to incentivise greater climate protection measures. Second, climate partnerships with more substantial financial resources will incentivise developing countries to accelerate decarbonisation and not just follow the Chinese model. Third, climate action in the US and EU must be well calibrated.

Keywords: climate policy; systemic rivalry; Sino-Western cooperation
Corresponding author: Guntram Wolff, German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), Berlin, Germany; and Willy Brandt School of Public Policy at the University of Erfurt, Erfurt, Germany, E-mail:

References

CREA. 2023. China Permits Two New Coal Power Plants Per Week in 2022. Briefing February 2023, Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. https://energyandcleanair.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/CREA_GEM_China-permits-two-new-coal-power-plants-per-week-in-2022.pdf (accessed August 25, 2023).Search in Google Scholar

Élysée. 2023. Déclaration conjointe entre la République française et la République populaire de Chine. https://www.elysee.fr/emmanuel-macron/2023/04/07/declaration-conjointe-entre-la-republique-francaise-et-la-republique-populaire-de-chine (accessed August 24, 2023).Search in Google Scholar

European Commission. 2019. EU-China – A Strategic Outlook. https://commission.europa.eu/system/files/2019-03/communication-eu-china-a-strategic-outlook.pdf (accessed August 24, 2023).Search in Google Scholar

European Parliament, and Council of the European Union. 2023. “Regulation (EU) 2023/956 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 May 2023 Establishing a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism.” Official Journal L 130: 57. http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/956/oj (accessed August 25, 2023).Search in Google Scholar

Evans, S., and R. Pearce. 2020. Mapped: The World’s Coal Power Plants. https://www.carbonbrief.org/mapped-worlds-coal-power-plants/ (accessed August 24, 2023).Search in Google Scholar

International Energy Agency. 2022. Solar PV Global Supply Chains. https://www.iea.org/reports/solar-pv-global-supply-chains (accessed August 24, 2023).Search in Google Scholar

MacKay, D. J. C., P. Cramton, A. Ockenfels, and S. Stoft. 2015. “Price Carbon – I Will If You Will.” Nature 526: 315–6. https://doi.org/10.1038/526315a.Search in Google Scholar

Nordhaus, W. 2015. “Climate Clubs: Overcoming Free-Riding in International Climate Policy.” The American Economic Review 105 (4): 1339–70. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.15000001. https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.15000001 (accessed August 24, 2023).Search in Google Scholar

Posen, A. 2023. “America’s Zero-Sum Economics Doesn’t Add up.” Essay. Foreign Policy. https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/03/24/economy-trade-united-states-china-industry-manufacturing-supply-chains-biden/ (accessed August 15, 2023).Search in Google Scholar

Ritchie, H., M. Roser, and P. Rosado. 2020a. Annual CO2 Emissions by World Region. Our World in Data. https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/annual-co-emissions-by-region (accessed August 25, 2023).Search in Google Scholar

Ritchie, H., M. Roser, and P. Rosado. 2020b. Per Capita CO2 Emissions. Our World in Data. https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/co-emissions-per-capita (accessed August 25, 2023).Search in Google Scholar

Ritchie, H., M. Roser, and P. Rosado. 2020c. Cumulative CO2 Emissions. Our World in Data. https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/cumulative-co-emissions (accessed August 25, 2023).Search in Google Scholar

Tagliapietra, S., and G. B. Wolff. 2021. “Form a Climate Club: United States, European Union and China.” Nature 591 (7851): 526–8. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-00736-2.Search in Google Scholar

U.S. Department of the Treasury. 2023. Remarks by Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen on the U.S. – China Economic Relationship at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy1425 (accessed August 24, 2023).Search in Google Scholar
Received: 2023-09-03
Accepted: 2023-09-07
Published Online: 2023-09-21

© 2023 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Editorial
  3. The Economists’ Voice, December Issue 2023, Geopolitical Tensions and Economic Policy Making
  4. Policy Papers
  5. European Public Policies and Sovereign Risk in the Eurozone: How State-Contingent Governance Hampers Fiscal Discipline
  6. The Reform of the European Fiscal Rules: In Search of Mechanisms Ensuring Sustainable Debt Levels
  7. How Brexit Damaged the United Kingdom and the City of London
  8. Understanding Economic Sanctions on Iran: A Survey
  9. A Soufflé only Rises Once: China’s Grim Economic Prospects
  10. Policy Forum: Geopolitical Tensions and Deglobalization
  11. Deglobalization: Reasons and Effects
  12. Geopolitical Tensions and Global Monetary (Dis)Order
  13. From BRICS to BRICS+: Sheer More Members is not a Challenge to G7
  14. The Rise and Fall of the Eurasian Regionalism
  15. Caught up by Geopolitics: Sanctions and the EU’s Response to Russia’s War Against Ukraine
  16. China’s Central Role in the Globalization and Slowbalization Trends
  17. German Chinese Economic Relations: Necessary Reassessment
  18. China’s Economy as Xi’s Means of Power Or Why the Chinese Economy is Not yet Bigger than That of the USA
  19. Systemic Rivalry of China and the West in Climate Policy
https://doi.org/10.1515/ev-2023-0048
Keywords for this article
climate policy; systemic rivalry; Sino-Western cooperation

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Editorial
  3. The Economists’ Voice, December Issue 2023, Geopolitical Tensions and Economic Policy Making
  4. Policy Papers
  5. European Public Policies and Sovereign Risk in the Eurozone: How State-Contingent Governance Hampers Fiscal Discipline
  6. The Reform of the European Fiscal Rules: In Search of Mechanisms Ensuring Sustainable Debt Levels
  7. How Brexit Damaged the United Kingdom and the City of London
  8. Understanding Economic Sanctions on Iran: A Survey
  9. A Soufflé only Rises Once: China’s Grim Economic Prospects
  10. Policy Forum: Geopolitical Tensions and Deglobalization
  11. Deglobalization: Reasons and Effects
  12. Geopolitical Tensions and Global Monetary (Dis)Order
  13. From BRICS to BRICS+: Sheer More Members is not a Challenge to G7
  14. The Rise and Fall of the Eurasian Regionalism
  15. Caught up by Geopolitics: Sanctions and the EU’s Response to Russia’s War Against Ukraine
  16. China’s Central Role in the Globalization and Slowbalization Trends
  17. German Chinese Economic Relations: Necessary Reassessment
  18. China’s Economy as Xi’s Means of Power Or Why the Chinese Economy is Not yet Bigger than That of the USA
  19. Systemic Rivalry of China and the West in Climate Policy
Sign up now to receive a 20% welcome discount
Institutional Access
How does access work?
Have an idea on how to improve our website?
Please write us.
© 2025 De Gruyter Brill
Downloaded on 7.11.2025 from https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/ev-2023-0048/pdf
Scroll to top button