The Great Global Climate Reset

Context:  Despite contrasting approaches, China and the US share goals on the environment, recognize it as fundamental to new world order. India must start work on building political consensus to adapt to the changed reality

Coercive environmentalism: followed by China.

• Features:
  • Puts growth and development over ecological sustainability.
  • Reconciling with the goal of harmonious society: China reframed the dilemma between development and ecology as bringing harmony between humanity and nature and the building of an “ecological civilization”.
• Benefits of Coercive environmentalism:
  • For China: Helped in shedding the image of being the “bad boy” on climate issues.
  • Quick decision making: Since there is no need for reaching political consensus on the necessity for action or the nature of it.
  • Helps in realizing the objectives of western environmentalists: since planetary survival as the foremost objective of the moment.
• Issues with Coercive environmentalism:
  • Authoritarian environmentalism: signified by Xi Jinping's decision to strengthen the party-state against the rest of society, curb dissent, and impose tough and unconventional solutions.
  • Concerns about the effectiveness of coercive strategies.
  • Massive political and social costs: Local communities will suffer most due to the top-down solutions; technocratic elites may make mistakes in assessing and treating environmental problems.
  • Cannot be replicated in democracies.

Liberal environmentalism: The United States model.

• Suitable for democracies and plural societies.
• Building political consensus: It relies on political consensus in drafting new environmental norms and their effective enforcement
• Relies on market-based mechanisms.

Way forward for India to deal with Climate Change

• Need domestic political resilience in adapting to the new imperatives.
• Deal with internal conflicts centred on climate.
• Deal with the new phase in global politics of the environment.
• Recognize the common goals of coercive and liberal environmentalism.

Conclusion: While both the US and China understand that climate politics is in the end about rearranging the global order. India must start working on building political consensus to adapt to the changed reality.