Ordosmaxxing • Jeremy Wallace
The contradictions of the energy transition collide in the Inner Mongolian city of Ordos.
Issue issue-4
CHINA
When it comes to the climate, China is often described in conflicting terms, from awe over its dominance in green tech to derision over its use of coal. But the many and, at times, contradictory strands of China's engagement with the climate and environment are far richer and more complex than just this point. The contributors to Issue 4 explore this complexity while acknowledging an inescapable truth: there is no route out of the climate crisis that does not pass through China.
Contributors
- Jeremy Wallace
- Thomas White
- Kaiser Kuo
- David Fishman
- Yan Lianke
- Jeremy Tiang
- Kamil Ahsan
- Michelle Chen
- Jared Paolino
- Martin Vrba
- Judith Shapiro
- Matthew Myers
- Mathias Larsen
- James Jackson
- Iza Ding
- Deborah Seligsohn
- Adrienne Buller
- John Merrick
Articles
Fences, Barns and Roads • Thomas White
The fate of herders in Inner Mongolia shows that to understand China’s big green state, we must see it from the margins.
• 14 min read
The Machine • Kaiser Kuo, David Fishman
Is China's green technology revolution a model—or a warning?
• 27 min read
The Re-birth of Village Trees • Yan Lianke, Jeremy Tiang
Acclaimed novelist Yan Lianke reflects on the cost of progress in rural China. Translated by Jeremy Tiang.
• 10 min read
Desert Island Politics • Kamil Ahsan
A battle for sovereignty—and control—is unfolding in the South China Sea.
• 18 min read
From Above and Below • Michelle Chen
China's top-down drive to transform the energy system creates an ever-greater need for solidarity to demand justice from below.
• 15 min read
A Part, Not the Whole • Jared Paolino
A dispatch from Debrecen, Hungary, on the frontlines of the global race to dominate green energy.
• 14 min read
Not Even the Sky • Martin Vrba
With a history shaped by unruly weather, China has much to gain—and little to lose—from intervening in the Earth system.
• 12 min read
Sheer Force of Will • Judith Shapiro
Judith Shapiro speaks to John Merrick about Chinese environmental thought, from the "War on Nature" to "Ecological Civilization".
• 16 min read
How to Kill a Drought • Matthew Myers
Searching for answers to the water crisis in Hong Kong’s past.
• 16 min read
The Inconvenient Case of China • Mathias Larsen, James Jackson
When it comes to the green transition, China poses an inconvenient but important challenge to liberal democracies.
• 15 min read
An Accidental Climate Revolution • Iza Ding, Deborah Seligsohn
Rather than taking up the mantle of "climate leadership", China is walking a mundane path to global transformation.