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Contrasting Stances on Sustainability by the USA and China: Political Economy and Demographic Paradoxes in the Two Main Agents of Climate Change

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  • George Martine,
  • Igor Cavallini Johansen
George Martine
Independent Consultant
Igor Cavallini Johansen
Nucleus for Population Reseach (NEPO), Unicamp
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3197/whpjps.63887831800462

Published 2026-09-29

Keywords

  • Climate governance, Political economy, Demographic dynamics, Sustainability, United States-China comparison.,
  • Climate governance,
  • Political Economy,
  • Demographic dynamics,
  • Sustainability,
  • United States-China comparison
    • ...More
    Less

How to Cite

Martine, George, and Igor Cavallini Johansen. 2026. “Contrasting Stances on Sustainability by the USA and China: Political Economy and Demographic Paradoxes in the Two Main Agents of Climate Change”. The Journal of Population and Sustainability, September, 1-44. https://doi.org/10.3197/whpjps.63887831800462.

Copyright (c) 2026 George Martine, Igor Cavallini Johansen

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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Abstract

As the world’s preeminent greenhouse gas emitters, the United States and China are moving along increasingly divergent sustainability trajectories. Applying a political economy and demographic lens, this article contends that national emission profiles are shaped by a complex interplay of climate threat perceptions, state capacity, energy strategies and shifting attitudes toward multilateralism. While China integrates rapid renewable expansion with persistent fossil fuel reliance under a state-led developmental model, the United States has recently implemented domestic deregulation and withdrawal from international climate accords. Beyond these institutional contrasts, a paradoxical convergence in attitudes toward population growth, despite the nations’ sharply different demographic trends, is identified. Overall, the analysis advances the discourse on climate inequality and the viability of collective global climate action, highlighting how demographic dynamics and political economy jointly determine the prospects for sustainability.

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