COP 56 is a futuristic United Nations climate change conference taking place in 2050, after WWIII between India and Pakistan devastated the globe. In the lead up to COP59, the effects of extreme climate change were catastrophic – only a fraction of the world population currently has the financial means to acquire drastically squandered resources. A climate apartheid seems plausible and the health of the population has been deteriorating.
Noah, who was tasked with representing Han China, wrote two position papers. The first is an external position paper, which outlines his official and public stance on climate change and the crisis at hand. The second is an internal position paper, which exposes his nation’s climate strategy and secretive plans for COP59.
External Position Paper – The Terror of Climate Change
China’s long and storied past has lent it a unique outlook on the ebb and flow of civilization, having both experienced and observed the rise and fall of many dynasties and kingdoms. As the existential crisis of climate change began to rear its head in full, our government saw its role in the causation of climate degradation. The Chinese Communist Party, being the ruling party of China for most of the 20th and early 21st centuries, began to enact various policies in an attempt to lower its own contributions to environmental pollution. These measures included the construction of many hydropower dams to better capitalize on China’s renewable energy capabilities, an ambitious program aimed at increasing the efficiency of China’s renewable energy, and speaking out at an international level to urge other countries to become more involved in the battle against global warming.,,, However, these promises did not reflect China’s actions, nor our deeper beliefs on the nature of our role in climate change, with many other countries highlighting our economy’s continued reliance on non-renewable energy and consistently high emissions.
China faced mounting instability within the country, which only became increasingly volatile as the disastrous effects of climate change began to impact an exponentially rising portion of the population. This eventually led to the restructuring of our government and the consequent ousting of the CCP.
A new government, known as the Unified Provinces of Han China (UPHC), established a more equal and democratic society in China, being comprised largely of those that grew up during the era that spawned the Hong Kong protests, a generation of now-grown activists who see the devastating effects brought on by climate change and who are committed to combating it.
The UPHC acknowledges its previous role in climate pollution, and is wholeheartedly committed to the immensely difficult task of rebuilding the climate and fixing the broken world before humanity is driven to eventual extinction. To do this, we propose an adaptation of our predecessors’ Five Year Plans, scaled to properly accommodate for the immense task of combatting and eventually reversing climate change, known as the Fifty Year Plan. This initiative hopes to put into place a concrete guideline for protecting vulnerable populations from the harmful effects of climate change, and using innovations in climate technology to “bioengineer” a healthier climate, with the intent of the year 2100 —exactly 50 years after COP59— being one that is celebrated as a turning point in restoring the Earth to a wholly habitable state, instead of another low point in the continued downward spiral of the planet’s climate.
Internal Position Paper – China’s Place in the New World
As the Chinese Communist Party grappled with the immense economic and environmental devastation brought on by climate change, their control over the Chinese population began to crumble, only further exacerbated by the widespread economic impact of the Covid-19 virus that plagued the world in the early part of the 2020s.,, Beginning what would have been the most important period in our fight against climate change with an economic disaster put our once-powerful nation at a significant disadvantage, amplified by the ever-rising costs of mitigating climate damage.
Following the formation of the Unified Provinces, our outlook has changed to one of almost fervent devotion to combating climate change. Our new government knows that if the current trajectory of climate change is kept by 2100, humanity will be assuredly doomed to a long and painful extinction. This alarming reality has galvanized policymakers and people alike within China, who are increasingly intolerant of those unable to devote themselves to reversing climate change. In a world of ever-shrinking resources and conflict to covet them, China will accept nothing less than total cooperation from every member of the international community. Those who are not willing to put in more than their fair share of effort will quickly find themselves far from the good graces of China and any allies we may make. However, this commitment to cooperation belies a darker, more sinister underbelly. Factions of the old Chinese government still remain, biding their time in the hopes of once again regaining control. If the world shows itself truly unable to cooperate, and China’s citizens begin to suffer outright, an ultra-nationalistic, “China-First” ideology will undoubtedly surface.
Works Cited and Consulted
Worland, Justin. “Paris Agreement: China Takes Lead on Climate Change.” Time. Time, June 8, 2017. https://time.com/4810846/china-energy-climate-change-paris-agreement/.
Biello, David. “Damming the Yangtze: Are a Few Big Hydropower Projects Better Than a Lot of Small Ones?” Scientific American. Scientific American, October 13, 2009. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/damming-the-yangtze/.
“China’s Green and High-Efficiency Cooling Action Plan: A Model for Cooling-Efficiency Ambition.” IGSD, January 6, 2020. http://www.igsd.org/chinas-green-and-high-efficiency-cooling-action-plan-a-model-for-cooling-efficiency-ambition/.
“COP25 Summit: China Leads Attack on ‘Imbalances’ in UN Climate Talks.” South China Morning Post, December 12, 2019. https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3041711/cop25-summit-china-leads-four-nation-attack-over-imbalances-un.
“Press Statement on Climate Change Following the Meeting Between the State Councilor and Foreign Minister of China, Foreign Minister of France and the United Nations Secretary-General Secretary-General.” United Nations. United Nations, June 29, 2019. https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/note-correspondents/2019-06-29/press-statement-climate-change-following-the-meeting-between-the-state-councilor-and-foreign-minister-of-china-foreign-minister-of-france-and-the-united.
“COP25: Seen as a Cooling Influence, China Instead Lets Brazil Heat Up.” South China Morning Post, December 13, 2019. https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3041901/cop25-summit-expected-be-cooling-influence-un-climate.
Mahtani, Shibani. “Coronavirus Is Fueling New Protests in Hong Kong. Authorities Aim to Arrest Their Way out.” The Washington Post. WP Company, March 1, 2020. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/coronavirus-is-fueling-new-protests-in-hong-kong-authorities-aim-to-arrest-their-way-out/2020/02/29/065a94ee-5481-11ea-80ce-37a8d4266c09_story.html.
Climate Vulnerability Monitor: a Guide to the Cold Calculus of a Hot Planet. Madrid: DARA, 2012.
Lynch, David. “Economic Fallout from China’s Coronavirus Mounts around the World.” The Washington Post. WP Company, February 14, 2020. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/economic-fallout-from-chinas-coronavirus-mounts-across-the-globe/2020/02/13/7bb69a12-4e8c-11ea-9b5c-eac5b16dafaa_story.html.
Johnson, Keith, and James Palmer. “Knock-On Effects of China’s Coronavirus May Be Worse Than Thought.” Foreign Policy, February 3, 2020. https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/02/03/knock-on-effects-china-coronavirus-weak-economy-markets/.