China Environmental Law

Some of you may be aware of the U.S.-China Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED) (we’ve reported on it previously here and here).  It was established by Presidents Bush and Hu as a

focused and effective framework for addressing issues of mutual concern. By prioritizing issues in the broader context of our bilateral economic relationship, the SED gives direction and creates momentum for the many existing bilateral mechanisms we use to foster cooperation and resolve concerns across the spectrum of economic issues.

The process was not designed to take the place of specific trade negotiations or dispute resolutions, but was meant to provide an on-going platform for the discussion of economic “issues in the broader context.”  Run out of the Treasury Department, the initial SED discussions were indeed focused on “economic” issues.  When it became clear, however, that you can only talk for so long about “market-determined exchange rates” without trying everyone’s patience, the dialogue expanded into other areas where the fruit was perhaps a little lower hanging.

Two of those areas were energy and the environment; the classic 双赢 topics that make everybody happy.  Thus, at the Third Dialogue last December in Beijing, the United States and China agreed to “conduct extensive cooperation over a ten-year period to address the challenges of environmental sustainability, climate change and energy security.”  Anxious to proceed quickly with these efforts, the Dialogue Fact Sheet provided that “[w]e will establish a working group in order to start planning as soon as possible.”

Plan they did, and at the Fourth Dialogue in Annapolis, Maryland in June 2008 the parties agreed to “conduct extensive cooperation over a ten-year period to address the challenges of environmental sustainability, climate change and energy security.” This time, however, they put it in writing to show that they really meant it. 

The “writing” is called the Ten Year Energy and Environment Cooperation Framework (E&E Framework).  It has five initial focus areas:

1. Clean, Efficient, and Secure Electricity Production and Transmission
2. Clean Water
3. Clean Air
4. Clean and Efficient Transportation
5. Conservation of Forest and Wetland Ecosystems

These issues, of course, are somewhat outside the Treasury Department’s core competencies.  At CELB, on the other hand, we spend our days addressing ways in which the United States and China can cooperate to address the challenges of environmental sustainability, climate change and energy security.  Given this focus, when the good, but apparently beleaguered, folks at Treasury asked for volunteers to join an Advisory Committee to provide advice on the E&E Framework, we marched right down to our local recruitment center with Yankee Doodle ringing in our ears. 

How our offer to pitch in was received and who is on the committee warrants its very own post.  In the meantime, however, here’s a little exercise for you.  The typical CELB reader has an above average interest and grounding in China environmental and energy issues; so think, if you were putting together a committee “to provide advice and recommendations on how best the United States can cooperate with China on shared energy and environmental challenges,” who would be the top five people (China or US-based) you’d want to see on that committee?  If any of your picks are on the list, dinner’s on me.  I feel pretty confident, however, I won’t be shelling out any undervalued RMB.