中文
By Wu Changhua
Climate change poses a global existential crisis and demands collective efforts to pivot how we pursue growth and development. It challenges how we get along with our peers and other forms of life in nature, and very importantly defines why we shall convene resources, expertise, and wisdom to build a shared future we all want. Just as John Kerry, the U.S. current administration's top climate diplomat said recently, "no country should withhold progress on existential transnational issues because of bilateral differences."
But his words contradict the deeds. In the last three decades, the world's largest and most advanced economy and, historically, the largest emitter proves always putting its own interest ahead of the rest of the humanity. Or to borrow Kerry's own words he used to blame China that fits better to describe the U.S. behavior, it's already 30 years in the making that the U.S. has been "punishing the world, particularly the developing world" by its sustained dereliction of duty to fight climate change.
The world won't forget former U.S. President George W. Bush's infamous saying that "the American way of life is not up for negotiation" at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992 when the UN climate convention was born, nor how the U.S. Senate blocked any climate legislation since then and the Donald Trump administration's withdrawal from the Paris Agreement.
Today, the world welcomes the "return" of the U.S. to the international climate process, and yet, in the meanwhile, is seriously concerned with two major uncertainties - the first is how long such a return will hold because of the U.S. domestic political instability and divides; and the second is the current U.S. administration's "geo-politicization" of climate change and clean energy transition to incriminate, demonize and decouple with China.
The latest geopolitical saga is the U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to China's Taiwan region, followed by another Congressional delegation's visit - total violation of the long-established and mutually agreed-upon rules and one-China principle. In response, Chinese government announced suspension of bilateral cooperation in eight aspects, one of which is climate change.
Xie Zhenhua, John Kerry's China counterpart, has stated, officially, "the U.S. shall take full responsibility for the status quo of bilateral climate cooperation." And the world gets caught up in a new round of downward spiral of China -U.S. relations. This occurs at a time of intensifying climate crisis that harms and threatens lives, health and livelihoods of billions of people, especially those in poor developing nations. And, what's even more worrying is how the U.S. continues to act so irresponsibly that would further compromise the integrity and accountability of global mechanisms to fight climate change and continue to drag down the much-needed acceleration of clean energy revolution.
Then, what bilateral climate cooperation are we really talking about? The world has seen statements, declarations, trips and also tic-for-tac "public" fighting on media! I might sound too critical, but I really don't see substances except an attempt to keep open a communication channel when no common ground except contention and rivalry could be found, as well as "showing" a seemingly joint front of the world's two largest economies (jointly more than 40 percent of global GDP) and emitters (about 40 percent of global emissions when combined).
China today is rightly a rising competitor to the U.S. in clean energy transition. Not only global supply chain, but also market deployment and scaling of clean technologies through a clearly set and articulated decarbonization-centered national strategy of industrial revolution, infrastructure and technologies for the coming decades – the popularly known "duo carbon reduction goals." Very encouragingly, the country stays on track to deliver its goals and targets aligned with the Paris Agreement.
We cheer the Biden administration for its latest win of the partisan "climate and energy bill" that will use tax credits to incentivize market growth of clean energy products and services. And we all know clearly that the new legislation falls short to deliver the U.S. reduction target by 2030 and provides no clarity on how it will honor its committed contribution to the $100 billion every year, with other industrialized countries, to support the poorest and the most vulnerable nations to fight and adapt to climate change.
Believe it or not, we are delighted to see the commonality and potential convergence, especially between the U.S. and China from at least two perspectives: one is the climate and clean energy socio-economic theory and narrative that national legislation (both stick and carrot), clarity of national climate strategy, and strong government interventions are the most effective solution to drive clean energy transition and climate action; and the other is the shared and aligned pathways of such a transition. Just imagine how fast the pace of the transition and how resource- and capital-efficient it would be if the two could race on the same track, rather than on two separated ones.
The biggest disparity or challenge lies in mindset, vision and strategy. We, as a species of nature, seem to have embraced a vision of shared human destiny and ecological civilization, but are constrained by narrow-mindedness, selfishness and self-interests, and lack of capability, willingness and wisdom to break away from the old age and lead humanity towards a climate resilient future.
While devasted by the cascading crises - energy, food, water, economy, politics and geopolitics, and environment - around the world, somehow, I want to remain hopeful. A Chinese old saying states that "Don't do unto others what you don't want done unto you." It's a simple and common sense. Fooling others will never end with good result because they can differentiate truths and lies; incriminating others proves your weakness and lack of confidence; and playing a zero-sum game will doom us all in failures.
The only hope and choice on the table now is for the two countries to sincerely work collaboratively to lead decarbonization, fight climate change and reset global growth agenda that is centered on climate resilience and transition. This is for the sake of respective country's national and people's interests, but also of humanity.
Wu Changhua is the executive director at the Professional Association for China's Environment and China director of the Office of Jeremy Rifkin.
