The Alta Wind Energy Center, California, May 24, 2019. Credit: Daxis via Flickr
With provisions to cut U.S. emissions by 40 percent from 2005 levels by 2030, the Inflation Reduction Act has revived America’s global climate leadership. Since most of these reductions will come from a cleaner electricity sector – which is projected to be 70-85 percent carbon-free by 2030 – the United States will be well positioned to collaborate with others on decarbonization of the power sector, starting with China.
True, in response to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s recent visit to Taiwan, China has suspended its diplomatic engagement with the U.S., including on climate issues. And yet, the climate threat is not unlike the threat posed by nuclear proliferation during the Cold War. The two superpowers (both economically and in terms of emissions) have a shared interest in reducing their fossil-fuel “arsenals,” even amid worsening bilateral relations. By acting decisively this decade, both can deliver greater economic, he
Exclusive longform investigative journalism, Q&As, news and analysis, and data on Chinese business elites and corporations. We publish China scoops you won't find anywhere else.
A weekly curated reading list on China from David Barboza, Pulitzer Prize-winning former Shanghai correspondent for The New York Times.
A daily roundup of China finance, business and economics headlines.
We offer discounts for groups, institutions and students. Go to our Subscriptions page for details.
On Thursday, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo met with Wang Wentao, the Chinese Commerce Minister, in Washington. It marked the first cabinet-level meeting in Washington between the U.S. and China during the Biden administration, and it was a signal of the Commerce Department’s increasingly central role in the current U.S.-China relationship. Usually, the Commerce Department is far from the center of anything, but as Katrina Northrop reports, the department is uniquely suited to address the China challenge.
The lawyer and author talks about the attack on a train in the 1920s which created an international incident, the rise of the Communist Party and the conditions for foreign media in China today.