{"id":99029,"date":"2024-09-09T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-09T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.futuribles.com\/chine-civilisation-ecologique-et-geopolitique-du-green-power\/"},"modified":"2024-10-28T12:40:56","modified_gmt":"2024-10-28T11:40:56","slug":"chine-civilisation-ecologique-et-geopolitique-du-green-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.futuribles.com\/en\/chine-civilisation-ecologique-et-geopolitique-du-green-power\/","title":{"rendered":"China: ecological civilisation and the geopolitics of green power"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Few observers have paid attention to the fact that China has been working on the geopolitical concept of \u201cecological civilisation\u201d for almost 20 years now. Proposed in 2007 by President Hu Jintao, this concept was promoted to the rank of constitutional principle of the People\u2019s Republic in 2018. In 2021, President Xi Jinping made it one of the key pillars of China\u2019s collective narrative, setting the goal of carbon neutrality by 2060.[1]<\/a><\/sup><\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

For Western observers, accustomed to seeing China as one of the most polluted countries on the planet \u2014 in 2008, car traffic had to alternate in Beijing to allow the Olympic Games to take place in a more or less breathable atmosphere \u2014 this announcement was more often than not seen as one of those slogans that the Chinese are so fond of. After the Great Leap Forward and the New Silk Road, why not \u201cecological civilisation\u201d?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Responsible for 23% of the planet\u2019s greenhouse gas emissions and producing around 60% of its electricity from coal-fired power stations, China in 2024 is still a long way from being able to claim to be a model green society. And yet, on a per capita basis, the Chinese ecological footprint (8 tCO2<\/sub>eq. [tonnes of CO2<\/sub> equivalent]) is comparable to that of Europeans (7 tCO2<\/sub>eq. and even close to 9 tCO2<\/sub>eq. for the French) and much lower than that of North Americans (14 tCO2<\/sub>eq.). It is even lower than that of Europeans if we add to the latter\u2019s direct footprint, i.e.<\/em> that contained in the products they import, particularly from China.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n

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In fact, there are several reasons why the Chinese, who have proved their ability to project themselves into the very long term, should give greater visibility and substance to their project for an ecological civilisation:[2]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n