Despite China’s official hard line, some Chinese environmental officials privately express alarm at run-away carbon emissions and suggest that foreign green tariffs would actually strengthen their hand in domestic policy struggles over controlling greenhouse gases by helping to win political support for emissions cuts. Pan Yue (潘岳), vice-director of the State Environmental Protection Administration, recently argued in a China Daily article in favor of stronger emissions regulations and a more “green-oriented China,” warning that “China’s image among the international community” was in jeopardy.
The dispute over trade sanctions brings to the fore not only the ethical question of whether wealthy nations should bear the burden of emissions reduction alone, but also the question of whether sticks as well as carrots should be used to induce green behavior in developing countries.
Although China may not like it, the international trading system may provide more leverage than any other post-Kyoto mechanism over developing countries’ environmental policies. Despite the threat of trade wars, trade sanctions could emerge as the most effective means of forcing international action on global warming.
Robert Collier is a visiting scholar at the Center for Environmental Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley.
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