What can China do to counter Trump’s move to axe US climate change efforts?
Chinese climate officials surprised by new US leader’s move, as experts urge Beijing to take global leadership role and build alliance with European nations to tackle greenhouse gases
Chinese climate officials’ hopes of US President Donald Trump – who labelled global warming a “hoax” during his election campaign – softening his stance on the issue once he moved into the Oval Office have proved unfounded.
Observers may have been dismayed by Trump’s intention to “backtrack” on his predecessor Barack Obama’s climate legacy, but they believe it is still a little early to confirm the “death penalty” has been imposed on the international deal to limit dangerous rises in global temperatures.
China’s top officials tried to reassure the world’s of its leadership role in tackling climate change at the Davos summit last week, leading to calls for the world’s largest carbon emitter to actively build an alliance with European nations to follow through on the global plan of action set out in the Paris Agreement, reached in France in late 2015.
The US Climate Action Plan, led by former president Obama, sets out the world’s largest economic pledge to tackle the challenge of climate change caused by greenhouse gases, within the UN framework.
