China's emergence and the prospects for global sustainability

Journal Article · Thu Mar 15 00:00:00 EDT 2007 · Bioscience

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1641/B570308· OSTI ID:20892697

Grumbine, R E ^[1]

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1. Prescot College, Prescot, AZ (United States)

China's rapid development is influencing global patterns of resource use and their associated environmental and geopolitical impacts. Trend projections suggest that China's rise will have unprecedented impacts on the rest of the world. I examine three key drivers affecting China's emergence (scale of development, government policy decisions, and globalization), along with four factors that may constrain development (environmental degradation, political instability, coal and oil consumption, and carbon dioxide emissions). China's rise represents a tipping point between fossil fuel-based economies and still emergent sustainable alternatives. Policy precedents between the United States and China over the next decade may well determine the future course of global sustainability.

• OSTI ID: 20892697
• Journal Information: Bioscience, Vol. 57, Issue 3; ISSN 0006-3568
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING
POLICY AND ECONOMY
CHINA
GOVERNMENT POLICIES
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
ENVIRONMENT
POLITICAL ASPECTS
COAL
PETROLEUM
FUEL CONSUMPTION
EMISSION
CARBON DIOXIDE
AIR POLLUTION
FOSSIL FUELS
USA
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
GLOBAL ASPECTS