Surrendering leadership to China empowers China to extend its international influence in multiple respects - which some, apparently, applaud.
Why would China have leadership?
They emit more CO2 than anyone and aren't reducing emissions anytime soon.
More and more people are seeing climate change as a scientific, ethical, and moral issue rather than a political one.
How many see it as a financial issue?
The U.S. abdicating global leadership in confronting climate change is creating both a power void and an added economic incentive for China to clean up its act and sell green technology to developing nations. With dependence upon Chinese technology comes China's increased political influence.
A study from the Chinese University of Hong Kong found air pollution in China is a $38 billion drag on the economy when factoring in the impact on public health and reduced crop yields. Moreover, a 2018 University of Chicago report found that if the Chinese government sustains the pollution reductions it made from 2013-2017, the average Chinese citizen would see their life expectancy increase by 2.3 years. The environment continues to be the largest source of protests in China.
Then there is the opportunity that comes from developing new markets. According to a 2015 study by Goldman Sachs, China’s demand for environmental goods and services could be upward of $1 trillion. This could spell big profits for foreign and domestic companies alike particularly as China’s economy slows.
China cannot afford to lose momentum in its effort to create a low-carbon economy. An immediate first step and a bold move would be to reduce all tariffs and not-tariff barriers on environmental products and services for foreign firms. This would stimulate growth and job creation. In addition, it should bring its guidelines for defining green investments in line with global standards and not definite coal-related industries as green. Increasingly investors are seeking to make green investments but need the confidence that they are in fact green. Promoting and defining green finance could help offset the difficult transition China is experiencing as it tries to wean off its reliance on coal.
The world’s success in bringing down global greenhouse gas emissions is dependent on the actions of China, the world’s largest carbon emitter.
thediplomat.com