China on the eve of Copenhagen

The author first gives an overview of the Chinese worrying energy situation because of its high economic growth and its high energy demand and consumption. She highlights the preponderant share of coal and the associated environmental issues. She comments the economic and strategic implications of the oil share increase in energy consumption in China with respect to its energy supply security. She discusses the present debate on costs which would result from not taking environmental issues into account, and the weight of lobbies and local policies on these issues. Then, she notices that, however, significant evolutions can be observed in the Chinese environmental strategy: implemented policies and actions, research and development policy and investments. She discusses the consequences of these aspects and evolutions for the international negotiations in Copenhagen, and also the influence of the present economic and financial crisis on the Chinese environmental strategy