Secretary of State Blinken speaks on climate at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation in Annapolis, Md. (April 19, 2021)
Ahead of this week’s White House leadership summit on climate, Washington reiterated that addressing climate change is a top U.S. foreign policy priority and that the United States also wants to promote a green energy revolution.
Chinese Communist Party President Xi Jinping is one of 40 world leaders invited to this week’s climate summit. Diplomatic sources said preparations are underway to invite Xi to deliver a keynote address at the summit.
U.S. Secretary of State John Blinken warned Monday (April 19) that the United States is lagging behind China in developing renewable energy innovations.
“Right now, we’re lagging behind. China is the largest producer and exporter of solar panels, wind turbines, batteries and electric vehicles. It holds nearly a third of the world’s renewable energy patents,” Blinken said in a speech at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation in Annapolis, Maryland.
“It’s hard to imagine the United States winning a long-term strategic competition with China if we fail to lead the renewable energy revolution,” the top U.S. diplomat said.
Blinken said he will reaffirm the U.S. commitment to meeting climate goals at next month’s Arctic Council ministerial meeting in Iceland and at a meeting of the Group of Seven. G-7 members account for a quarter of global carbon emissions.
At the April 22-23 climate summit, world leaders will gather via Web video to discuss how they can work together to reverse what U.S. officials call the “critically important and unique issue” of climate change.
Washington has said it is prepared to work with Beijing on climate issues even as the United States confronts China on other pressing issues, including Beijing’s crackdown in Hong Kong and Xinjiang, its military campaign against Taiwan and in the South China Sea, and China’s economic coercion of U.S. allies.
Cooperation with the Chinese Communist Party
On April 17, the U.S. and China issued a joint statement committing to urgent climate control measures after Kerry, the U.S. presidential envoy on climate matters, concluded talks with Chinese Communist Party officials.
The two countries expressed their intention to take appropriate action to maximize international investment and financing to support the transition from carbon-intensive fossil fuel energy to green, low-carbon and renewable energy in developing countries.
China accounts for about 30 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions. The world’s largest emitter has set a goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.
The United States is the world’s second largest emitter, accounting for about 15 percent of global carbon emissions, and has announced a goal of achieving net zero emissions by no later than 2050.
Some experts warn that the inconsistency between the Communist Party’s rhetoric and actions could pose an inherent challenge to credible global climate action.
“China can certainly do better; they just choose not to. According to a recent analysis conducted by the Rongding Group, China’s emissions increased by nearly 2 percent and was the only major economy whose emissions increased during the epidemic,” said Frank Fannon. Fannon is managing director of Fannon Global Advisor and a senior advisor at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
“Last year, China produced 3.84 billion tons of coal, the highest since 2015, according to its National Bureau of Statistics. And it put that coal to use,” Fannon said.
Other analysts argue that cooperation between the world’s two largest emitters can take place simultaneously without weakening the U.S. negotiating position on other key issues, and that it is critical to keep the lines of communication open despite the current tensions between the two countries.
“In addressing climate change, we need unity among the great powers, not competition and conflict among the great powers,” said Michael Klare, secretary of the board of directors of the Arms Control Association (the Arms Control Association).
“We need China’s help to accelerate the transition to green technology in developing countries,” Klare added. He described climate change as a greater national security threat than other issues.
Rob Atkinson, president of the Washington-based Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), said the growing competition between Washington and Beijing over technology could extend to climate policy.
“The only way to solve the climate change problem is through innovation, including grid-scale battery storage and solar power, that makes clean energy cheaper than polluting energy,” Atkinson said during a webinar Monday hosted by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.
Atkinson said, “The area where they (China) are in the lead is stealing foreign clean technologies, forcing them to be ready to transfer them when companies don’t want to transfer them and heavily subsidizing less innovative clean technology companies in China.”
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