Description
Following the shift from the Kyoto Protocol to the Paris Agreement, all states, including China (formerly a non-Annex 1 developing country), now have decarbonisation commitments under the Nationally Determined Contributions of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. To fulfil these commitments, China aims to reach carbon neutrality by 2060. To this end, the country has been investing heavily in renewable energy and developing smart grid technologies. These developments are now reaching beyond China’s borders and bringing its partners in Southeast Asia into its ‘community of shared destiny’ as it pursues a ‘Green Belt and Road Initiative’. For Southeast Asian countries that now face similar decarbonisation commitments, China is an attractive partner for renewable technologies. However, this creates other challenges in terms of dependencies and circular economy requirements, particularly in the context of de-risking. Southeast Asian states must balance multiple environmental, economic and geopolitical tensions: decarbonisation commitments, the effects of climate change, the continuing need for economic development, problems of economic security, self-sufficiency and over dependence. In this article, we explore questions on the forms and extent of turmoil created by Chinese dominance in renewables and its impact on Southeast Asia.
