Trump has repeatedly threatened to withdraw the United States from the 2015 Paris Agreement. (Photo : Getty Images)
For years, China has been on the receiving end of reminders and scoldings from other nations, particularly the United States, when it comes to commitments to fight climate change. Nowadays, as the Trump administration undoes the climate change policies its predecessor has worked on, the roles have been reversed.
In a report by Today Online, experts posit that China will more likely take a leadership role in worldwide climate change efforts. Its role will mostly revolve around making the U.S. honor its commitments in the spirit of the 2015 Paris Agreement.
“They’ve set the direction they intend to go in the next five years,” Barbara Finmore, senior lawyer and Asia director of the Natural Resources Defence Council, told Today Online.
“It’s clear they intend to double down on bringing down their reliance on coal and increasing their use of renewable energy.”
Furthermore, Finmore believes that assuming the role of the U.S. in the climate change arena was included in China’s five-year plans.
Donald Trump, throughout his presidential campaign, has consistently made statements in line with climate change denial, pointing his fingers at China for being responsible in the creation of a “hoax.” Additionally, Trump has repeatedly threatened to withdraw the U.S. from the 2015 Paris Agreement.
Meanwhile, Chinese officials, including President Xi Jinping, continue to promote the Paris Agreement, encouraging all signatories to meet their climate commitments.
“All signatories should stick to it instead of walking away from it, as this is a responsibility we must assume for future generations,” Xi said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, earlier this year.
Furthermore, Beijing has adopted a slew of policies in line with its climate commitments, showing that the Communist Party “has attached even greater importance to ecological civilization and green development,” said Chai Qimin, a climate change researcher and policy adviser.
“Everyone is taking this more and more seriously,” Chai said in an interview before a climate conference in Marrakesh.
