In national-scale policy discussions about climate action, the spotlight often turns to the world’s largest emitter: China.
Most recently, we saw this where youth activist and global climate strike organizer Greta Thurnberg presented her message to the U.S. Congress. The lead Republican on the House Select Committee on Climate Change essentially asked her why the U.S. should act at all, when other countries including China are increasing their emissions.
He used a convoluted analogy involving boats throwing trash in the ocean, which she effectively demolished:
“Ms. Thunberg, let me ask you a question. If you were sailing across the ocean and you’re picking up trash along the way, and for every one piece of trash that you pick up there is a boat right next to you dumping out five pieces. How would that make you feel?” Graves says.
“Well, first of all, if you use that logic, then I am also dumping a lot of trash in the ocean. And then I would stop dumping my trash in the ocean and tell the other boat to stop dumping their trash in the ocean as well,” Thunberg replies.
Her point is that the actions of others don’t excuse us from our own responsibility. This is true. But there’s also another interesting reason why this line of questioning is illogical, which is that China isn’t doing nothing on climate change. In some ways, they are doing more than the US, although the comparison is complicated.
For example, China is currently in the process of launching a national emissions trading program, which when fully implemented will be the largest in the world. China also has signed on to the Paris climate agreement and advocated through diplomacy for strong climate targets. These are things that the US has failed to do.
Columbia’s SIPA Center on Global Energy Policy has a new report which acknowledges the complications, and provides a comprehensive resource to learn more about how China has approached the climate crisis:
Climate change is a big topic. It involves natural systems, energy systems, financial systems, political systems and more. Not surprisingly, China’s response to climate change is complicated and multifaceted. In some ways, China is a leader when it comes to fighting climate change. In other ways, China lags.
Check out the full SIPA report for important context on China’s climate policy. And, see CGC’s new white paper Investing Across Sectors to Reduce Emissions for more on how a National Climate Bank could help the US approach the necessary level of ambition. Other countries’ policies should be no excuse for failing to take this type of aggressive action.