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Coronavirus: fears mount that China’s transition to a greener economy may be shelved amid recovery
- Faced with increasing economic headwinds, there is concern China’s green transition may be set back by the coronavirus
- Vaunted carbon emissions trading scheme, due for national implementation this year, likely to be delayed, observers say
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The coronavirus crisis has sparked fears that China's long-term environmental goals, including its ambitious carbon trading system, could be shelved as the government scrambles to get the economy back on track.
China’s growth had already slowed to record lows before the coronavirus sent the economy into a tailspin, with industrial production, retail sales and investment all then plunging at double digit rates in the first two months of the year.
Analysts have downgraded China’s growth forecasts for 2020, some to below 3 per cent, as the likelihood of a global recession gathers steam.
Faced with increasing economic headwinds, some observers have questioned whether China will reach for an environmentally damaging stimulus package to revive the economy and meet President Xi Jinping’s goal of doubling per capita gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020 from 2010.
As a result creating a new round of emissions increases and locking in China to a high emissions path
Already, there are signs that China’s green transition may have been knocked off balance by the virus response. A sputtering emissions trading scheme (ETS) appears to have been set back as a result of initial containment measures, while environmental standards have been relaxed for some firms and climate watchers are bracing for a spike in greenhouse gas emissions.
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