Green Parties, Green Future: From Local Groups to the International Stage by Per Gahrton & Caroline Lucas

Author:Per Gahrton & Caroline Lucas [Gahrton, Per & Lucas, Caroline]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Political Science, General
ISBN: 9780745333458
Google: HsvbrQEACAAJ
Goodreads: 25102857
Publisher: Pluto Press
Published: 2015-01-15T09:46:02+00:00

GREEN DEMOCRACY INSTEAD OF CHINESE ECO-AUTHORITARIANSIM

According to the Belgian sociologist Marc de Vos, ‘China is king of capitalism 4.0 and has the key to the future.’45 Is that true? Is authoritarian China the model for the future? There are signs in that direction. ‘We are trying to maintain constant growth while at the same time wanting to protect the environment. This is a contradiction’, vice minister Li Jinjun told a visitors’ group from the European Green Party at the beginning of January 2014 (led by Philippe Lamberts, MEP). Similar views were expressed by Chinese representatives throughout the week-long visit which, in addition to discussions in Beijing with representatives of the central government and city authorities, also included a visit to Hanergy PV Group’s massive solar-panel field in Qinghai and to the headquarters of the IT giant Huawei in Shenzhen. When in China, it is impossible to avoid the impression that the country has the biggest environmental problems in the world, while at the same time it is seen as becoming a world leader in environmentally friendly technology. The Environment Ministry has calculated that air pollution has caused GDP to fall by 2.5%. Prime Minister Li Keqiang declared in March 2013 that ‘China cannot sacrifice the environment in the interests of growth.’ That does not mean that China’s leadership believes in zero growth or de-growth. Even if China is a world leader in environmental pollution, it will still be a long time before the country reaches the same level of consumption as the EU or the USA. To take just one example: in 2000 1.8 million cars were sold in China and 17.4 million in the USA; in 2013 the figure in China had risen to 21 million, and in 2020 it is expected to reach 34.7 million, which is twice as many as are sold in the USA. But in spite of this rapid growth in car sales, in 2020 there will still only be 16 cars per 100 inhabitants (aged 15–79) in China, as against 99 in the USA and 69 in Germany. It is facts like these which lead Chinese representatives to insist on calling China a ‘developing country’.

According to an opinion poll conducted in September 2013, the Chinese people’s concern about the environment is growing rapidly. From 2008 to 2013 the proportion of people who were concerned about air quality increased from 31% to 47%; in relation to food safety the figure rose from 12% to 38%; and on water quality from 28% to 40%.46 This raises the question as to whether the centrally determined objectives are actually implemented. Some observers have doubted the existence of a central state in China that is capable of taking decisions. ‘There is no Single Market in China’, claimed an official of the EU Delegation in Beijing. A similar picture has been given by Jonathan Waters, who maintains that China embodies the worst features both of dictatorship and democracy. ‘Power lies neither at the top nor the bottom but within the

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