Wang Tao
{
"authors": [
"Wang Tao"
],
"type": "legacyinthemedia",
"centerAffiliationAll": "",
"centers": [
"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"Carnegie China"
],
"collections": [],
"englishNewsletterAll": "",
"nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
"primaryCenter": "Carnegie China",
"programAffiliation": "",
"programs": [],
"projects": [],
"regions": [
"East Asia",
"China"
],
"topics": [
"Climate Change"
]
}Source: Getty
Going Green Now for China
Dependence on cheap coal has resulted in high social and environmental costs for China which are only going to increase without the creation of policy framework for integrating less polluting technologies.
Source: CCTV
Carnegie–Tsinghua’s Wang Tao appeared on CCTV English’s Asia Biz to share his insights on the probability of a substantial Chinese shift to green energy. He argued that dependence on cheap coal has resulted in high social and environmental costs for China which are likely to increase without the creation of policy framework for integrating less polluting technologies. The energy structure in China is already changing as the nation moves toward an economy based more on service than on heavy industry.
China’s major cities are at the forefront of efforts to tackle pollution, explained Wang, with some beginning to experiment with carbon trading incentives in order to reduce pollution. Wang also explained how the current pollution problem has made cities like Beijing less attractive places to live. Highly skilled workers, with options to work in less polluted areas, could leave if conditions worsen, he concluded.
This video interview was originally published on CCTV English’s Asia Biz.
About the Author
Former Nonresident Scholar, Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy
Wang Tao was a nonresident scholar in the Energy and Climate Program based at the Carnegie–Tsinghua Center for Global Policy.
- Xi’s Global Leadership Ambitions in the Trump EraArticle
- How the Paris Conference Is Driving China’s Gas and Oil ReformsIn The Media
Wang Tao, Yang Yifang
Recent Work
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
More Work from Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center
- Women, Water, and Adaptation in Ait KhabbashCommentary
The burden of environmental degradation is felt not only through physical labor but also emotional and social loss.
Yasmine Zarhloule, Ella Williams
- Raining Stones: Deir al-Kahf’s Bedouins and the Impact of ClimateArticle
For settled descendants of nomadic or seminomadic communities on Jordan’s periphery, the future looks uncertain as government employment is declining, natural resources are dwindling, temperatures are rising, and traditional cross-border ties are restricted.
Armenak Tokmajyan, Laith Qerbaa
- Between Marginalization and Climate Change: The Resilience of Morocco’s Ait KhabbashArticle
For the traditionally nomadic Amazigh pastoralists in the Draa-Tafilalet region, environmental change has exacerbated long-standing inequities, forcing the community to adapt, which has laid bare the blind spots of state-centered climate policy frameworks.
Yasmine Zarhloule, Ella Williams
- Who Dominates the Global Oil Industry?Commentary
In an interview, Adam Hanieh looks at heavyweights past and present.
Yezid Sayigh
- In Iraq and Yemen, Climate Activism Requires Both Defiance and AdaptationArticle
In fragmented political contexts, climate activism is a way to contest both ecological harm and the structures of violence and neglect that allow it to persist.
Issam Kayssi, Mohanad Hage Ali