Essay by Eric Worrall
Why would the nation which has benefited the most from green de-industrialisation pay for training the next generation of global eco-warriors?
Students learn life lessons in climate change debate
By XING YI in London | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2024-02-13 00:55
Students from 23 schools around the world took part in the third Model United Nations Conference ‘Good COP Bad COP’, organized by British educational charity Engage with China, or EWC, on Feb 2.
Themed around climate change and the COP, or Conference of the Parties, the Model UN saw more than 200 student negotiators using their skills to find consensus on dealing with issues such as single-use plastics, fast fashion, and food waste.
The event, running for the third year, gave pupils from different countries, including China, the United Kingdom and Brazil, an opportunity to come face to face with students their own age from different backgrounds and life experiences.
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Zhang Jin, minister counselor for education at the Chinese Embassy in the UK, said: “Facing global challenges, no country can solve it alone or remain unaffected; countries and peoples need to transcend borders and ideologies, work together to find common ground.
“I’m delighted to see you, young students from various countries, are trying to understand your peers from different backgrounds, respect these differences, and find solutions agreed and accepted by all.”
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Read more: https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202402/13/WS65ca4d79a3104efcbdaeab9a.html
I’m not saying everything China pays for is automatically bad. China has splashed a lot of money over the last few years, winning hearts and minds, and perhaps this climate outreach effort is simply another Chinese effort to build bridges.
But regardless of China’s motivation, I don’t believe China’s sponsorship of these kinds of events will benefit Britain, or any other Western nations which participate. Britain already has more than enough climate obsessed children and adults, China pouring fuel on the fire of Western climate fanaticism is not an action which will benefit the nations which receive such interventions.