Strengthening US-China Climate Change and Energy Engagement

on January 31, 2009

The United States of America and the People's Republic of China are both key players in international efforts to address global warming and global energy security. Indeed, they are by far the two largest emitters of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the world, together accounting for over 40% of global CO2 emissions from fossil fuel use. Efforts by these two players over the coming decades to cut greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption will play a large role in determining the ultimate outcome of efforts to combat global warming. They are, of course, not alone in this effort, but they are the critical actors, jointly holding the key to either sustainability or catastrophe. Building upon NRDC's experience in China and the international global warming negotiations, this paper recommends nine key steps for the incoming Obama administration, US Congress, and leaders in China to strengthen US-China Climate Change and Energy Engagement. These recommendations range from communication and cooperation between the two countries to improving environmentally-friendly technologies and practices.

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Sara Segal-Williams
Topics: 
Energy
Environment
Keywords: 
Greenhouse Gases
Pollution
Organization: 
Natural Resources Defense Council

China’s Charter 08

By Liu Xiaobo & Perry Link on January 15, 2009

The document below, signed by more than two thousand Chinese citizens, was conceived and written in conscious admiration of the founding of Charter 77 in Czechoslovakia, where, in January 1977, more than two hundred Czech and Slovak intellectuals formed a

loose, informal, and open association of people…united by the will to strive individually and collectively for respect for human and civil rights in our country and throughout the world.

Taiwan-U.S. Relations: Recent Developments and Their Policy Implications

By Kerry Dumbaugh on January 7, 2009

U.S.-Taiwan relations have undergone important changes, sparked in part by the increasing complexity of Taiwan’s democratic political environment and the continued insistence of Beijing that the separately ruled Taiwan is a part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou, elected on March 22, 2008, in a surprisingly broad electoral victory, has moved quickly to repair Taiwan’s relations with the PRC. Opponents of the government’s plans have said that President Ma’s moves to improve cross-strait relations have been too rapid, too unilateral, and have compromised Taiwan’s sovereignty and placed its economic security in jeopardy. This report analyzes recent developments in Taiwan’s political landscape and their potential implications for both the U.S. and PRC.

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Peony Lui
Topics: 
Economy
History
Politics
Keywords: 
Taiwan
Ma Ying-jeou
One-China Policy
Organization: 
Congressional Research Service

A Roadmap for US-China Cooperation on Energy and Climate Change

on January 1, 2009

The world faces no greater challenge in the 21st century than arresting the rapidly increasing accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that cause climate change. The two largest producers of these gases are the United States and China. Their cooperation is essential if there is to be a solution to the daunting climate change challenge. if the United states and China canbecome active catalysts in bringing about a strategic transformation to a low-carbon, sustainableglobal economy, the world will take a giant step forward in combating climate change. The United states and China will also edge closer to energy security, protecting their environmentsand assuring greater prosperity for their citizens. equally important, they will also succeed inbuilding a far more stable and cooperative foundation for U.s.-China relations as a whole.

In mid-2007, the Asia society assembled a group of leading experts from the worlds ofscience, business, academia, politics, and civil society with representatives from the Council on Foreign Relations, the Environmental Defense Fund, The Brookings Institution, the national Committee on U.S.-China Relations, and Pew Center on Global Climate Change, to explorehow the United states and China could cooperate more closely on energy and climate change.

The result was the establishment of the initiative for U.S.-China Cooperation on Energy and Climate.

 

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Topics: 
Energy
Environment
Keywords: 
Climate Change
U.S.-China Relations
Greenhouse Gases
Fossil Fuels
Carbon
Energy
Organization: 
Asia Society

Yen Bloc or Yuan Bloc: An Analysis of Currency Arrangements in East Asia

By Kazuko Shirono on January 1, 2009

This paper examines the role of Japan against that of China in the exchange rate regime in East Asia in light of growing interest in forming a currency union in the region. The analysis suggests that currency unions with China tend to generate higher average welfare gains for East Asian countries than currency unions with Japan or the United States. Overall, Japan does not appear to be a dominant player in forming a currency union in East Asia, and this trend is likely to continue if China's relative presence continues to rise in the regional trade.

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Sara Segal-Williams
Topics: 
Economy
Keywords: 
Currency
Japan
Organization: 
International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Building Bridges: China’s Growing Role as Infrastructure Financier for Sub-Saharan Africa

By Vivien Foster, William Butterfield, Chuan Chen, and Nataliya Pushak on January 1, 2009

Over the last decade Chinese investment in Africa has grown considerably. This includes the financing of large infrastructural projects in many African countries. Although Chinese finance of African infrastructure is important, there is not much known about its value. This report sets out to calculate the amount of Chinese finance involved in African infrastructural projects by assembling information from a wide range of Chinese-language sources. It also attempts to document the types of infrastructure affected, geographic distribution of resources, the different ways that finance is being provided, and the amounts and terms of the financing of projects. The findings of the study advance greater questions about the social, environmental, and economic impacts of the Chinese financing of African infrastructural projects.

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Topics: 
Economy
Keywords: 
Investment
Sub-Saharan Africa
Organization: 
World Bank