Some GOP luminaries like to argue that we can’t afford to take action on climate change because the Chinese will just cheat and free ride off our efforts. While this is theoretically possible, it would have the following impacts:
- China is far more vulnerable to the effects of climate change than we are. If the country fails to do its part, the impacts will definitely be felt domestically;
- Cheating would be exposed, which would cause China to lose face all over the world, and would likely result in substantial new tariffs on exported goods to the US and the EU; and
- China would be falling behind in the industries of the future. In the long run, it would be a disaster for the Chinese economy and for national security.
The bottom line is that we are engaged in a race to the top, not the bottom. The Chinese are looking to the future, not to preserve the not-so-glorious past. So should we.