Australian economist argues China is conning the world on net zero

An Australian economist says China is conning the world on an important global issue.

An Australian economist has argued China has “hoodwinked” the world on net zero in what he acknowledges could be seen as a “controversial” take.

Leith Van Onselen, chief economist at the MB Fund and MB Super and co-founder of MacroBusiness, told 4BC host Mike Jeffreys that while Australia and other countries are making sacrifices for the good of the planet, the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter is not, and therefore “we’re basically shooting ourselves in the foot”.

“I’d argue China is the largest beneficiary of the West’s net zero policies,” Mr Van Onselen said on the radio show.

“It’s not abiding by the same rules and what we’re effectively doing is, while we’re reducing our carbon footprints through these sorts of policies and giving us expensive energy and shutting down manufacturing and becoming less diversified economies, China is simply expanding its carbon output and expanding its manufacturing sector at our expense.

“The world’s not getting cleaner. We’re just shifting the pollution away from us, to China, and it’s actually less regulated in China.”

An Australian economist has argued we are being conned by China as we strive for net zero. Picture: Greg Baker / AFP

Mr Van Onselen said we were cutting back on fossil fuel use at the same time “China is going gang busters”.

“We’re shrinking our manufacturing sector through high energy costs, we’re giving ourselves cost of living crises, we’re creating inflation etc.

“And while we’re cutting back, we’re sending the same fossil fuels over to China to burn instead of us.”

The economist argued the world would be better off if the Western world did not export so much fossil fuel to China to burn and instead burnt it themselves.

He referred to a Reuters report from August that found China had boosted domestic coal production and imports to record highs.

It said production from China’s mines hit a seasonal record of 390 million tonnes in July 2024, up from 378 million in the same month a year earlier, and imports surged to a seasonal record of 296 million tonnes in the first seven months from 261 million tonnes in 2023.

Mr Van Onselen concluded: “I think we can all agree we’d like to have a cleaner planet but the whole idea of net zero is completely impossible or ridiculous if China is not involved.

“If we’re going to make sacrifices, China has to make sacrifices.”

Originally published as Australian economist argues China is conning the world on net zero