Political Perspectives on Beijing’s Role in creating barriers to Climate Justice;
Analyzing the Effects of the BRI
高勉正
清华大学 （研一）
Summary:
Since the Belt and Road Initiative begins in Beijing and spreads throughout the Eurasian Continent, it’s worth asking not only what role Beijing as one of the largest economic centers outside of Shanghai and Shenzhen plays, but also what role the Government in Beijing plays in orchestrating the project as well. If immense economic development at the rate of Deng Xiaoping’s first wave of “socialism with Chinese characteristics” is necessary to pass the United States, does it matter if ecological and human preservation is forsaken in the process? Ultimately, despite Trump’s cowardice, the decisions come from Beijing as a result of a power struggle between China and the Liberal-Democratic World Order typically led by the United States. I contend this is very clear in 3 examples of the intersection of Climate Justice and Human Rights along the Belt and Road: 2 in China’s Autonomous Regions, and 1 with public sector and private sector trading partners of the Chinese Government. These examples touch on the 3 major aspects of the intersection of climate justice, sustainable resource management, and sovereignty, showing themselves in issues regarding Petroleum, Glaciers, and Rainforests.
Examples (Power Struggles in Border Regions and Outside Regions along the Belt and Road):
Uyghur Oil Basin Risks:because Beijing has found some of the largest if not the largest oil reserves in the world in the Northwestern Corner of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region, it makes sense that the Belt and Road Initiative 一带一路 would be built with a railroad going straight through this area. In order to limit resistance, over 1 million people are now being subjected to family separation, imprisonment, and torture. In addition, by normalizing what would be the longest oil train in history at a time when we need to rapidly decarbonize our emissions standards globally in order to stay below 1.5 degrees, if the oil in the XUAR is not kept in the ground, the consequences could be catastrophic.
Tibetan Glacier Risks:The Tibet Autonomous Region is home to a glacial system that provides the water for much of India, China, and Central Asia, often called the “Third Pole”. With private bottled water and dam industries looking to monopolize water in a world where fresh water reserves are decreasing at a rapid rate — Tibet has now become a global issue. The Chinese Communist Party has also put global carbon emissions on a more dangerous trajectory through urbanizing the region with the Qinghai-Tibet Railroad 青藏铁路. It is necessary for China to keep a stronghold on Tibet, it’s water, and the Qinghai Tibet railroad if they are to maintain their connection to Pakistan and to Southwest Asian markets — but at what cost?
Deforestation Risks: Experts know that in order to curb global emissions there are 3 major things that need to be done above all else: Protect Rainforests, transform our transportation and home energy systems, and decentralize our agricultural system — and oftentimes these things go together. However, in recent years China has put its commitment to surpassing the United States as a global superpower over its commitment to solving the existential threat of climate change. Ultimately, as a great power, China had two opportunities to stand up and become a global reforestation leader and they failed both times. The first time occurred during the height of the trade war between China and the United States in 2019. When Trump refused to sell soybeans to China from Iowa, instead of changing import products and putting both trump and Bolsonaro out of business, China used its clout to set up a soybean market from Brazil, and setting their forests on fire in the process. Millions of indigenous people live in Brazil, as well as indigenous plants and wildlife — but it wasn’t important. The second time occurred when, in the aftermath of the trade war that China had now won, Malaysia and Indonesia were in trouble and China had leverage to make Palm Oil companies change practices, and create policy that punished deforestation. The Chinese Communist Party chose the easy way out, just like Trump, and continued to buy massive amounts of Palm Oil, a product that puts the entirety of the earth’s rainforests at risk.
Concluding Analysis:
These 3 major aspects of the Belt and Road which threaten global environmental and humanitarian security are problems in themselves, but the root problem for all 3 is the willingness of top leadership within China’s government to sacrifice human and ecological preservation if swift economic development will help them overpower the United States and Germany.
Works Cited：
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/energy/oil/china-finds-major-oil-reserves-in-xinjiang-uygur-region/14852
https://thediplomat.com/2019/03/the-worlds-third-pole-is-melting/
https://www.reed.edu/chinese-studies/downloads/freeman-caihuajia-report.pdf
https://www.beltandroad.news/2020/02/16/china-wants-food-brazil-pays-the-price/
