World on Fire: Coal Politics and Great Power Responsibility

Even among fossil fuel resources with its extraction, transport, and consumption coal stands out for its profound impact on global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Many countries, firms, and communities remain extremely coal dependent and resistant to changing that. This chapter focuses on inconsistencies between great powers’ ambitious rhetoric and stated goals about reducing GHG emissions to stem the worst impacts of climate change, and their actual practices, policies, and emissions reduction accomplishments. We examine three cases in some detail the US, China, and the EU where various governance actors often deliver mixed messages and insufficient achievements, when compared to their aforementioned rhetoric. Results from the cases differ, in that the EU largely accepts its global responsibilities vis-à-vis coal and climate change, while achieving only modest actions in service to those responsibilities. China and the US present more nuanced and more contested rhetorical acceptance of global responsibilities, and even more modest policy and emissions reduction accomplishments. We note some evidence that responsibilities may be made more acceptable and achievable as the costs of associated actions decline. Furthermore, in the US and EU cases, domestic politics may be pushing great powers towards more responsible action in ways that English School theorizing does not foresee.