China can show the world what a green economic recovery looks like

China is banking on infrastructure to build its way to recovery. How it does so will decide whether it forges a green revival or a carbon-intensive future. Beijing has a chance to show it can be a responsible environmental steward

4-MIN READ4-MIN

Kevin Rudd

Kevin Rudd, a former prime minister of Australia, is president of the Asia Society Policy Institute, New York.

Published: 9:30am, 18 May 2020Updated: 9:51am, 18 May 2020

As one of the first countries to emerge from what may still just be the first wave of this coronavirus crisis, China also has an opportunity to lead the world in demonstrating what a green economic revival can look like.

Already, China’s emissions – like those across the rest of the world – have dropped sharply as a result of this crisis. In the four weeks after Lunar New Year, it is estimated that domestic emissions dropped by as much as 25 per cent, equivalent to around 200 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.

This is roughly a third of what a country like Australia emits in an entire year. And while China’s emissions have since steadily increased and are likely to spike with pent-up demand, the real risk now is that they will return to an even steeper trajectory than they were on before the crisis struck.

So far, Beijing’s economic toolkit has been focused largely on simply getting factories back to work, helping small businesses keep their doors open, and supporting the poorest parts of its population to get through the crisis.