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Climate change diplomacy

Climate change diplomacy
Latest news and analysis about how different governments engage with each other over environmental policies, including competition, collaboration and negotiations.
Harvesters at work in a rice field in Hangzhou, eastern China. China and the EU are reported to have signed joint research funding agreements to support scientific cooperation in areas such as food, agriculture and biosolutions, as well as climate change and biodiversity. Photo: Xinhua
China-EU relations

China, EU pushing ahead on joint research despite trade tensions

Joint 2025-2027 research agreement covers climate and agriculture, state media says, signalling will to collaborate in spite of differences.

Climate change

Opinion | To tackle the climate crisis, start small and scale big

China’s carbon neutral goal

Beijing’s evolving carbon road map balances climate targets and energy security

Climate change

Opinion | Trump’s rants over China’s green energy transition are just hot air

It’s not Chinese turbines or European rules that look outdated but Trump’s belief that China’s energy transition is not world-leading.

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US President Donald Trump enjoys a light moment during a meeting with oil executives in the East Room of the White House in Washington on January 9. Photo: AP
Science

China ‘on track to surpass United States’ in goals for human, planet health: UN

Report showing global progress on 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals shows gap between Chinese and US closed significantly since 2015.

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Japan

Takaichi hails UK defence ties despite next-gen jet spending uncertainty

The Japanese prime minister discussed the billion-dollar jet programme during a meeting in London with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

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Banking & finance

Open Questions | AIIB chief Zou Jiayi on financing Asia’s green transition

President of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank on how it bridges differences to build a more sustainable, climate-resilient world.

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
Environment

Video | Are we on the verge of another nuclear age?

Industry leaders predict China will become the world’s largest nuclear power producer by 2030.

China economy

Opinion | Rise of China complicates ‘authoritarian’ vs ‘democratic’ binary

As China’s trajectory exposes the limitations of labels inherited from another era, understanding how governance systems work is more important.

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Central Asia

An Asian alternative to Nato? How Cica is rethinking Middle East security

Chief of lesser-known security forum says it provides ‘architecture for de-escalation’ and allows members to project soft power.

Cica Secretary General Kairat Sarybay speaks to the SCMP on the sidelines of the Regional Ecological Summit in Astana, Kazakhstan on April 23, 2026. Photo: Handout
Climate change

Opinion | Why China and Europe should care about Central Asia’s water crisis

Central Asian rivers shape Eurasian trade flows, affect global food markets and contribute to geopolitical instability across the region.

The Dzungarian Alatau mountain range in Kazakhstan. Photo: Central Asia
China economy

Opinion | How a rising China is becoming a provider of global public goods

When China provides the hi-tech, low-cost hardware of development and multilateral banks provide regulatory oversight, the Global South wins.

Diplomacy

China bids to host High Seas Treaty secretariat, even as US exits UN bodies

China puts forward Xiamen as potential future home of Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction secretariat as treaty comes into force.

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Diplomacy

Opinion | High Seas Treaty will both boost China’s power and hold it accountable

Beijing realises that maritime leadership will be measured not just by fleets and bases but also by who protects the planet’s last great commons.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
China exports

Goodwill or necessity? Why is China slashing solar and battery subsidies?

Analysts expect policy will signal to Europe that Beijing is interested in serious trade relations and is a good partner.

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Authorities announced on Friday China will cancel export VAT rebates for solar panels and lower rebates for batteries from 9 per cent to 6 per cent from April 1. The rebates for batteries will be cancelled on January 1, 2027. Photo: VCG via Getty Images
United Nations

‘World stands at a crossroads’: UN chief issues grim New Year message

Antonio Guterres laments US$2.7 trillion global arms race and urges leaders to choose ‘people and planet over pain’ in 2026.

Science

US green tech retreat echoes mistake of China’s Qing dynasty before collapse

While Washington pulls back on climate, Beijing is making it possible for developing nations to leapfrog into a cleaner energy era.

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China economy

Opinion | How China is cementing its central role as the architect of green tech

Beyond climate leadership and capacity building, China is rewriting its own energy system – and the global energy order.

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An aerial view of the No 1 booster station of the Ningxia Power Investment Yongli (Zhongwei) 3-megawatt photovoltaic green power project, in Shapotou district, Zhongwei city, Ningxia. It was officially connected to the grid and began power generation on October 25. Photo : Xinhua
China-EU relations

Opinion | How France and China offer an alternative to zero-sum diplomacy

As the countries stake their relationship on sustainability and hi-tech cooperation, they are building a new template for bilateral ties.

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Climate change

Opinion | How Hong Kong can distinguish itself as a climate finance hub

The city should lead by directing capital to projects that modernise grids, electrify transport and accelerate green supply chains.

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Climate change

Opinion | Fashion industry must tailor climate plans to Asian suppliers’ reality

Efforts to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions in the fashion industry will not work if they rest on a Western design paired with Eastern sacrifice.

A worker holds a piece of clothing at a factory in Depok, Indonesia, on April 25, 2022. Photo: EPA-EFE/ADI WEDA
Climate change

Opinion | How Cop30 laid bare the new geopolitics of climate action

Fractures, even among the Global South, show the energy transition is not just a technical challenge but a deeply political negotiation.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Climate change

Opinion | China’s quiet climate leadership offers hope for Global South and world

The Global North is failing to deliver on its climate pledges while Beijing patiently lays the groundwork for a greener future.

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Climate change

‘Important steps’: what Cop30 deal means for climate unity and Global South

Despite the limited outcome, the summit also reveals how developing nations can still influence the global transition, analysts say.

Climate change

Language Matters | Why language loss in indigenous communities hurts biodiversity conservation

Ecosystem loss and language erosion often occur in tandem. Thankfully, Cop30 marked an unprecedented effort to elevate indigenous voices.

Activists take part in a climate protest during the Cop30 UN climate summit in Belem, Brazil, on November 15 2025. Photo: AP
China-India relations

India, China align on climate at Cop30 as ties thaw

Analysts say pairing China’s cleantech prowess with India’s energy needs has the potential to redefine Asia’s decarbonisation trajectory.

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A solar farm in China’s Shandong province. China leads the world in clean-energy investment, spending US$625 billion on the sector last year alone. Photo: Xinhua
Climate change

Cop30 seals uneasy climate deal that sidesteps fossil fuels

The EU had pressed for language on the move away from fossil fuels but faced stiff resistance from Arab Group nations including Saudi Arabia.

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Climate change

Macroscope | What China, not the free market, gets right about climate finance

China’s central and local governments and state entities are willing to issue or guarantee green bonds on a scale unmatched elsewhere.

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