China can lead the climate change battle, but it needs the world on its side
Li Shuo and Tom Baxter say China is well-placed to fill the vacuum left by Trump’s America in tackling climate change, but it must ensure investments in developing economies are directed towards clean energy and win the support of the global community
In response, China was keen to reaffirm its pledge to the Paris deal: Trump’s jump into isolation seemed to give Beijing one more reason to march forward in its emerging climate leadership role.
How did China, so often synonymous with pollution and environmental disaster, get here? And what must it do next?
How did China, so often synonymous with pollution and environmental disaster, get here?
Trump’s decision has left an enormous vacuum in climate politics. As the world’s second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases – contributing 18 per cent – the US will now sit outside the global climate consensus. Its significant diplomatic clout in pushing for strong global action will also now be absent from future climate talks.
Watch: Anger in the US at Trump’s withdrawal from Paris accord
But just as no one in 2009 could have imagined the role China would play years later in Paris, so in 2015 no one could have imagined that China would step up to global climate leadership.
China watchers have long labelled the country as “leadership allergic”. But this is precisely what we saw last week.
