From China Brief:
China released its much anticipated National Climate Change Program report on June 4, 2007. This plan comes at an important time, as nations are debating next steps in the international climate effort and China has likely just become the largest greenhouse gas emitter in the world. The majority of the policies described in the plan were already in place, and they cannot achieve the emissions reductions that will eventually be needed from China to make a serious contribution to the global challenge. Nevertheless, China’s climate challenge is considerable, and its efforts to date should not go unrecognized. The plan is significant, furthermore, in that it indicates that climate change has now captured the attention of political leaders within the largest developing country emitter of greenhouse gases. [Full Text]
Dr. Joanna Lewis is the Senior International Fellow at the Pew Center on Global Climate Change and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service.
