How to Train your Dragon; China and the Climate Change Harness

摘要

China's voracious appetite for new sources of energy supply is well-known and often commented upon. It has led to some very aggressive deal-making in various parts of the world, sometimes helping to underpin regimes with abysmal domestic political track-records. It has just concluded some massive new oil and gas deals with Russia, at least in part in response to the impact of Western sanctions against Moscow. As a result, it is frequently spoken of as the "villain of the piece" in the climate change drama, in the belief that it has no real interest in the subject, or in contributing to international efforts at mitigation which may have the effect of hampering its economic growth. It is sometimes said, for example, that if the UK were to shut down its entire generating capacity, China would have installed an equivalent amount of new capacity within two years.