03/09/2026
China is often described through two competing climate stories. In one, it is the indispensable engine of global decarbonisation: dominating solar panels, batteries, electric vehicles and renewable-energy deployment. In the other, it remains the world’s largest coal consumer and a major obstacle to climate progress.
In this new China Dialogues piece, Destiny Kassa argues that both narratives miss something important. China’s climate policy is not a fixed blueprint, but a contested bargain shaped by domestic political economy.
Central agencies, provincial governments, state-owned enterprises, energy-security planners and clean-tech industries do not always share the same priorities. Coal, renewables, EVs, grid reform and industrial policy all sit inside that bargaining process.
The result is not a simple story of sincerity or hypocrisy, but a political struggle over which sectors, regions and institutions gain from the transition.
⬇️ Read the full piece:
https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/cff/2026/09/02/china-climate-policy-bargain/
China’s climate strategy is not simply green leadership or coal-driven obstruction, but a contested bargain shaped by domestic political economy.
