China

Climate Policy After the 2024 Election

In this UCLA Emmett Institute webinar, panelists discussed the climate implications of the 2024 election from the state, national, and international perspective.

Climate certainty. Legislative action. Whipsaw regulations. An exodus of civil servants. Chinese leadership despite being the world’s largest emitter. Those are a few of the possible outcomes of the Nov. 5 presidential election, according to our panelists.  More than in any previous election, the two major candidates’ track records on environmental policies are well-established and …

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Understanding China’s National Energy Security Strategy

How should the US compete with Chinese green development?

China’s dominance in clean technologies (solar, wind, electric vehicles, batteries) has been in the news recently (see, e.g., here and here). China accounts for more than 80% of global manufacturing capacity for solar products and batteries. Chinese companies produce 65% of EVs globally. The US has responded to this both with measures to improve US …

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Power of the People: Environmental Advocacy in China

Several of China’s most prominent environmental advocates will join a keynote talk at UCLA Law on the role of civil society in addressing China’s global environmental impacts.

China’s global rise has raised concerns about impacts on the environment in a bewilderingly wide range of issues. These include global climate change, deforestation, impacts on rare and endangered species, harm to fisheries, environmental impacts of overseas infrastructure, mining, and energy sector investments, to name just a few. Popular attention has often focused on Chinese …

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Critical Insights on the Mineral Boom: Part III

On the rise of resource nationalism and building an equitable supply chain: Insights from the Emmett Institute’s “Powering the Future” symposium.

The topic of critical minerals and the energy transition is one of choices and priorities, at least according to author and journalist Ernest Scheyder, who spoke at the second panel in our recent “Powering the Future” symposium. This panel, Critical Minerals and Global Supply Chains, discussed some of the fundamental choices that governments, industry, and …

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How to Cooperate with China on Climate

A conversation with Joanna Lewis about what has worked, and what hasn’t, when it comes to bilateral climate cooperation with China.

China is the world’s largest producer of both CO2 emissions and green technology to cut those emissions. It installed more solar panels last year than the U.S. has in its history, and yet keeps building coal-fired plants too. And Chinese officials just announced that the country will accelerate the construction of solar, wind and hydropower. …

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U.S.-China Climate Deal Means Good Vibes for COP28

Pres Biden and Xi Jinping with flags behind them

Here are key takeaways from the Sunnylands Statement on Enhancing Cooperation to Address the Climate Crisis ahead of the UN climate talks in Dubai.

The chances for a productive COP28—the U.N. climate talks that get underway Nov. 30 in Dubai—got a big boost from the recent climate agreement between the U.S. and China, the world’s two biggest polluters.   Announced just before President Joe Biden and China leader Xi Jinping met at the APEC Summit in San Francisco, the …

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What to watch for, and ignore, at the upcoming climate talks in Dubai

Action at Madrid COP25

UCLA Law’s Mary Nichols, Alex Wang, and Ted Parson preview COP28 in a webinar this Wednesday.

Each year since 1995, the countries of the world have gathered to negotiate what to do about climate change. They do so under the auspices of the Framework Convention on Climate Change, the universally adopted climate change treaty that sets a goal of avoiding dangerous interference with the climate system. Those talks have had ups and …

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Gov. Newsom Goes to China to Talk Climate

Here’s what Newsom will see, say, and do on his China trip. He should also be listening for what California can learn from China.

We’re learning more about what Gov. Gavin Newsom will see, say, and do on his trip to China. All told, Newsom is slated to visit 6 cities in 5 provinces, including Guangdong, Jiangsu, and Shanghai—where he’s signing a new climate agreement. He plans to meet with representatives from the Chinese Ministry of Ecology and the …

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John Kerry’s China Visit was a Success (Sort of)

There was no big climate announcement. But that wasn’t really the purpose of the U.S. climate envoy visiting Beijing.

U.S. climate envoy John Kerry just wrapped up three days of talks with top Chinese officials in Beijing and doesn’t have a lot to show for it: There was no joint agreement or grand bargain. Chinese officials did not signal willingness to commit to a speedier timetable for cutting their greenhouse gas emissions or slowing …

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Emissions Trading in California: Lessons for China

Emissions Trading in California: Lessons for China

A New UCLA Report for Chinese Regulators and Researchers

We are pleased to announce the release of a new UCLA Law Emmett Institute of Climate Change & Environment report on Emissions Trading in California: Lessons for China. As many of you know, China launched trading for its national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions trading system (ETS) in 2021. By volume of emissions, the Chinese system …

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