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Buijs, Bram; Geuns, Lucia van --- "China, the EU and Sustainable Energy: Cooperation, Competition or Conflict?" [2012] ELECD 923; in Wouters, Jan; de Wilde, Tanguy; Defraigne, Pierre; Defraigne, Jean-Christophe (eds), "China, the European Union and Global Governance" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2012)

Book Title: China, the European Union and Global Governance

Editor(s): Wouters, Jan; de Wilde, Tanguy; Defraigne, Pierre; Defraigne, Jean-Christophe

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781781004265

Section: Chapter 16

Section Title: China, the EU and Sustainable Energy: Cooperation, Competition or Conflict?

Author(s): Buijs, Bram; Geuns, Lucia van

Number of pages: 10

Extract:

16. China, the EU and sustainable
energy: cooperation, competition
or conflict?
Bram Buijs and Lucia van Geuns

INTRODUCTION

Climate change and energy security are global concerns, as problems in the
climate system and energy markets touch every country around the world.
In theory, these shared concerns could bring the European Union (EU)
and China together as they face similar challenges in achieving a
sustainable and secure energy system. Energy, and especially sustainable
energy, might serve as an excellent field for cooperation and both parties
could potentially benefit a lot, possibly complementing each other in some
aspects. However, despite some government initiatives towards closer
cooperation in the energy field, this chapter will argue that in reality EU­
China relations concerning sustainable energy development are quite
complicated. Although interaction in the private sector has been rapidly
growing, the results of official collaborative projects have been rather
limited when compared to the scale of the challenges ahead. Furthermore,
friction seems to be emerging due to concerns over competitiveness in the
field of low-carbon energy technologies. How such trends will develop in
future, and whether the emphasis will remain on cooperation rather than
conflict, will be vital for both markets as they address such global
challenges as climate change and energy security.
This chapter starts with an introduction to Chinese energy policy and
developments within its energy sector. EU­Chinese interaction in the
energy field is subsequently evaluated, firstly from a policy and
governmental perspective and then by a discussion on the economic
...