Why does China love megaprojects? The Climate Question podcast, BBC World Service

Huge construction projects are transforming China - think enormous dams, giant solar power farms and a vast high-speed rail network. Will Beijing's "engineering mindset" help it deal with climate change? Click here to subscribe to our channel 👉🏽 https://bbc.in/3VyyriM China's senior leadership is dominated by engineers, starting with President Xi, who trained as a chemical engineer in the 1970s. They have overseen megaprojects like the 50-kilometre bridge now joining Hong Kong and Macau, and a plan to move water from southern China to the much drier north. The engineering mania extends to energy, where the world's largest polluter has invested trillions of dollars in wind and nuclear power, as well as high voltage transmission lines spanning the country. But China still uses a huge amount of coal power, and its mega projects have often damaged the local environment and led to the displacement of millions. So what does Beijing's approach mean for climate change? And can China build its way out of the problem? BBC Presenter Celia Hatton joins The Climate Question host Jordan Dunbar to chat to Dan Wang, author of Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future. Dan is currently a research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution. 00:00 Meet our guest, Dan Wang! 01:05 Chinese mega projects 03:50 The "Engineering mindset" in Chinese leadership 05:40 How does China approach climate change? 07:40 Trying to control water 09:05 Is China unique? 10:30 Problems with the South-North water project 14:00 Prioritising energy and food security 17:05 Continuing use of coal 18:35 Are Chinese cities "greener"? 20:59 Ghost cities and "wasteful" construction 23:25 How liveable are Chinese cities? Watch more episodes from The Climate Question here 👉    • The Climate Question   ---------------- This is the official BBC World Service YouTube channel. If you like what we do, you can also find us here: Instagram 👉🏽   / bbcworldservice   Twitter 👉🏽   / bbcworldservice   Facebook 👉🏽   / bbcworldservice   BBC World Service website 👉🏽 https://www.bbc.co.uk/worldserviceradio Thanks for watching and subscribing! #BBCWorldService #WorldService #China #climatechange #construction #engineering #energy #xijinping #brics