China is Not Letting Supposed Climate Change Come Between It and its Quest for World Domination, By Richard Miller (London)
The article from The Daily Sceptic (March 3, 2026, by Ben Pile) captures a growing European frustration: China prioritises relentless industrial dominance and economic growth over policies that could meaningfully constrain its emissions or harm its competitive edge. The piece frames this as Europe "finally waking up," spotlighted by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's recent China visit. Merz reportedly returned stunned by China's robotic manufacturing prowess and low-cost advantages, bluntly stating that Europe's emphasis on work-life balance, shorter weeks, and high energy costs (tied to aggressive renewables pushes like Germany's Energiewende) is eroding productivity and long-term prosperity. He warned that prosperity can't be sustained under such constraints when rivals like China keep energy and labour cheap to fuel endless output.
China is not letting supposed climate change come between it and world domination. Beijing's strategy is pragmatic realpolitik —green tech leadership where it wins economically (solar panels, EVs, batteries dominating global supply chains), but no willingness to sacrifice heavy industry, coal reliability, or growth momentum for abstract global emissions goals. Climate commitments exist on paper (peak CO₂ before 2030, net-zero by 2060), but reality shows a dual track: massive renewables rollout alongside coal as a backstop for energy security and industrial needs.
Recent data underscores this:
China's CO₂ emissions appear to have plateaued or slightly declined in 2025 (first annual drop since 2022 outside economic slowdowns, driven by renewables surge and efficiency gains in most sectors).
Yet coal remains central — new approvals dipped in 2025 (potentially a four-year low at ~41-45 GW permitted), but proposals hit record highs (161 GW), construction started on 83 GW, and commissions reached decade peaks (78 GW added). Coal ensures no blackouts repeat from 2020-2022, underpinning factories churning out everything from steel to ships.
The upcoming 15th Five-Year Plan (formalised early 2026) shifts toward absolute emissions controls (not just intensity), expands carbon markets, and pushes zero-carbon industrial parks — but experts call targets modest (7-10% net GHG cut by 2035 from peak, non-fossil energy >30% by 2030). Critics label it underwhelming, below what's needed for Paris compatibility, as it allows continued coal reliance for growth.
This isn't hypocrisy so much as calculated prioritisation: China dominates green manufacturing (70% of global EVs, record wind/solar additions) because it's profitable and strategic — exporting cheap clean tech while keeping domestic heavy industry humming on affordable coal. Europe, meanwhile, faces self-inflicted pain: high energy prices from rapid fossil phase-out, deindustrialisation risks, and vulnerability to Chinese overcapacity flooding markets (hence EU tools like CBAM tariffs on carbon-intensive imports).
The geopolitical bite? Western climate virtue-signalling (strict caps, net-zero deadlines) hands China advantages — cheaper production, tech leadership, and leverage in supply chains — while Europe/America grapple with higher costs and lost jobs. If emissions keep falling modestly in China without gutting growth, it proves the point: you can "go green" selectively without ceding dominance. For rivals fixated on absolute cuts at any economic cost, that's the ultimate seduction — and the ultimate vulnerability — in the race for 21st-century supremacy.
It's classic great-power competition: climate as another arena where China plays to win, not to save the planet at its own expense. Europe's awakening, if real, might mean tougher trade barriers or re-shoring, but Beijing bets its model outlasts the guilt-driven transitions elsewhere. Primal stuff indeed — dominance instincts overriding collective ideals.
