Put Climate Change in Development Perspective

Oct 15-2019   

Some believe China’s economic growth has been achieved at the expense of the environment. Prof. Justin Lin said that the two are certainly related, but a comparison between China and India might offer a different perspective.

India’s GDP per capita was over 30% higher than China’s in 1978. Now it’s only 20% that of China. Despite its much slower growth, India’s environmental indices are lower than China’s according to reports of various international organizations.

Prof. Lin is Honorary Dean of the NSD and Dean of the Institute of New Structural Economics at PKU. Citing the Kuznets Curve, Prof. Lin extrapolated that slowing down the economic growth would do the environment a disfavor by prolonging pollution-intensive industrial period and delaying China’s entry into low-energy-consumption service-dominated period.

Speaking at a recent seminar on climate change organized by the NSD, Prof. Lin proposed two solutions to climate change: galvanize energy revolution by shifting to renewable energies; and push forward technological revolution by developing low-emission technologies.

The market by itself will not suffice; the government should revamp both supply side and demand side policies. On the supply side, measures can include tax incentives and industrial development funds to support research and innovation. On the demand side, taxation and carbon exchange, among others, can be used to add extra costs on pollution and encourage low energy consumption and low emission.

On the international stage, China should take the moral commanding height and stress the common and differentiated responsibilities for climate change. China should continue to insist that developed countries must bear more responsibilities. At the same time, China should have the courage to take on more responsibilities. While advocating the development right and development space for developing countries, China should provide them with new technologies.