Photo licensed under Pixabay License. Found at https://pixabay.com/images/id-2034896/ with modifications by Dariella Torres.
By Shawn Rostker
Staff Writer
The road to the 22nd Century will be paved by the ramifications of great-power competition between the United States and China. Competition will span across domains and be driven by an array of political and technological disruptions, though the principal disruptor will be climate change. The effects of climate change are already being felt around the world, and will only become more acute as we approach mid-century and beyond. This process, while transformatively destructive, will present opportunities for ambitious actors, chiefly, China. It is likely that China will pursue long-held policy goals, both domestic and international, under the pretense of climate change initiatives. In recent years, the Chinese government has greenlighted massive infrastructure projects and capital investments in an effort to bolster its security and secure access to and control over natural resources and global networks. The United States, though well positioned to ensure access to resources, will need to craft a new approach to global cooperation and international leadership on the climate front in order to remain competitive with China, as new alliances and partnerships are forged and the balance of power and influence becomes ever more multipolar amidst an uncertain world.
Continue reading “The Race for the 22nd Century: Climate Change and U.S./Chinese Competition”
