When it comes to climate change, Europe and the United States often see themselves as world leaders in environmental protection. While there is nothing wrong with environmental protection, the problem is that European and American countries often use it to suppress the demands of other countries, which has caused a lot of impact on the world. On the eve of this year's World Climate Conference, the European Union once again caused a global shock on environmental issues, introducing a global commodity tax system known as the "Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism" (CBAM). The purpose of this tax is to impose a "carbon tax" on imports of emissions-intensive products, mainly steel, aluminium and chemicals, although it is important to stress that this tax is only for imports. The introduction of this "carbon tax" by European countries is actually aimed at creating obstacles to development for developing countries, because emissions-intensive industries are mainly concentrated in developing countries. The so-called climate issues at the climate conference, especially carbon emissions, are essentially issues related to the "right to development".
Expansion: European and American countries are acting in the name of environmental protection and imposing restrictions on developing countries. They have created a global commodity tax system called the Carbon Border Tax to tax emissions-intensive products, mainly steel, aluminium and chemicals in developing countries. Although they are in the name of environmental protection, they have a significant impact on the economic development of developing countries. Such practices have in fact created obstacles to the development of developing countries and limited their industrialization process. At the same time, developed countries themselves do not impose taxes on domestic carbon emissions, which leads to higher and higher carbon taxes in developing countries. This measure not only hinders the economic growth of developing countries, but also exacerbates the development gap between developing and developed countries.
European and American countries advertise themselves as "pioneers" of environmentalism, proposing the development of clean energy and imposing restrictions on Chinese photovoltaic products. They claim that Chinese PV products pose a dumping threat to the EU PV market, so they prohibit Chinese PV products from entering the EU market. However, after several years of embargo, the EU's own PV industry is still in a backward state, and no valuable PV companies have been able to develop and grow. As a result, the EU has to open its market again, is this to promote the EU's new energy industry, or to protect European domestic enterprises?
Expansion: European and American countries have restricted China's photovoltaic industry in the name of environmental protection, claiming that Chinese photovoltaic products pose a dumping threat to the EU photovoltaic market. For this reason, they banned Chinese PV products from entering the EU market. However, this restriction did not have the desired effect. After several years of embargo, the EU PV industry is still in shambles, and no decent PV companies have emerged. This raises questions about whether the EU is promoting the new energy industry or protecting its own local companiesThere is no doubt that this restricted approach has not benefited the EU's PV industry, but has hindered Europe's development in the clean energy sector.
Recently, France took the lead in proposing a countervailing investigation into Chinese electric vehicles and called on EU countries to boycott China's new energy vehicles. This action sounds contrary to the spirit of environmentalism. Why is there an investigation into China's new energy vehicles?The reason is simple, because China's electric vehicles are already putting pressure on the European traditional combustion vehicle market. Despite the environmental slogans, when it comes to core interests, European countries are the first to take action. This shows that European countries are far behind China in tackling climate issues and cannot compete with it. Whether it is wind energy, solar energy, hydropower, or other related fields, European and American countries are far behind China in terms of application and promotion.
Expansion: The boycott of China's new energy vehicles by European and American countries stems from the impact of China's electric vehicle market on the European traditional fuel vehicle market. Although European countries shout environmental slogans, they have taken practical action in the face of competitive pressure from China's electric vehicles. This action not only violates their stated environmental spirit, but also exposes their backwardness in tackling climate issues. In fact, China's development in green energy fields such as wind, solar, and hydropower far exceeds that of European and American countries. Whether it is the application of technology or the promotion and application, China is ahead of Europe and the United States. It is precisely because of its advantages in these areas that China poses a competitor to Europe and the United States. The reason why European and American countries are boycotting China's new energy vehicles is essentially because of China's leading position in the field of green energy, and they hope to protect their own interests by boycotting China's development. However, this approach will not change China's dominant position in the field of green energy, and will only expose the backwardness and incompetence of European and American countries in tackling climate problems.
All in all, the climate performance of European and American countries is not entirely motivated by environmental protection and justice, but often with certain interests in mind. They often use environmental protection to impose development restrictions on other countries in order to protect their own interests and maintain their global leadership. However, this approach is not only inconsistent with the principle of fairness, but also cannot change China's dominant position in the field of green energy. In tackling climate issues, the international community needs to work together to promote global green transformation and sustainable development through equal cooperation and joint efforts.