China’s Climate-Change Policy from Kyoto to Copenhagen: Domestic Needs and International Aspirations

As global warming moves to the center stage of world politics, climate-change policies have evolved to become one of the key components of China’s global strategy. In recent years, China has adopted a more proactive attitude toward climate-change mitigation, demonstrated by its domestic policies and role in international environmental negotiations, especially at the Copenhagen Conference. The cause of this policy change is the adjustments in China’s grand national strategy. After three decades of rapid economic growth, the Chinese government wants to facilitate the transition of its development pattern at home and seeks more prestige and influence in the international arena. As a rising power, China sees the climate-change issue as a matter of global strategic importance and has adopted a double-pronged approach to maximize its national interests by balancing its domestic needs with its international aspirations. The negotiations about the post-Kyoto regimes present an opportunity for China to exercise its power in creating rules and institutions on major global issues.