TO DEAL WITH THE CLIMATE CRISIS WE NEED A NEW PARADIGM OF
TECHNOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT AIMED AT THE RESTORATION OF
ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS--THE BIO-DIGITAL ENERGY PARADIGM--AND CHINA IS THE
WORLD POWER BEST POSITIONED TO LEAD THIS CHANGE.The climate and energy
crisis requires a strong state to change the direction, speed, and
scale of innovation in world capitalism. There are only a few possible
contenders for catalyzing this governance of survival: China, the
European Union, India, and the United States. While China is an
improbable leader--and in fact the world's biggest emitter of
greenhouse gasses--Peter Drahos explains in _Survival Governance_ why
this authoritarian state is actually more likely to implement systemic
change swiftly and effectively than any other power. Drawing on more
than 250 interviews, carried out in 17 countries--including the
world's four largest carbon emitters--Drahos shows what China is doing
to make its vast urban network sustainable and why all states must
work toward a "bio-digital energy paradigm" based on a globalized,
city-based network of innovation. As Drahos explains, America is
incapable of reducing the power of its fossil fuel industry. For its
part, the European Union's approach is too incremental and slowed by
complex internal negotiations to address a crisis that demands a rapid
response. India's capacity to be a global leader on energy innovation
is questionable. To be sure, China faces hurdles too. Its coal-based
industrial system is enormous, and the US, worried about losing
technological superiority, is trying to slow China's development. Even
so, China is currently urbanizing innovation on a historically
unprecedented scale, building eco-cities, hydrogen cities, forest
cities, and sponge cities (designed to cope with flooding). This has
the potential to move cities into a new relationship with their
surrounding ecosystems. China--given the size of its economy and the
central government's ability to dictate thoroughgoing policy
change--is, despite all of its flaws, presently our best hope for
implementing the sort of policy overhaul that can begin to slow
climate change.
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Energy and Climate in the Chinese Century
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9780197534779
Publisert
2021
Utgiver
Vendor
Oxford University Press
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter