China Environmental Law

There was a flurry of stories this weekend that reported as breaking news the fact that US climate envoy Todd Stern was not seeking an absolute cap on carbon emissions from China.  I was a little surprised by these reports because to the best of my knowledge Stern has never stated he was seeking such [...]

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We haven’t focused too much here at CELB on the demand of developing countries, with China as a vociferous cheerleader, for “technology transfers” from developed to developing countries as part of a Copenhagen deal.
We have noted that during Todd Stern’s recent visit to China he apparently agreed with his Chinese counterparts to establish a “joint [...]

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In our continuing effort to provide you with every little shred of information released about the recent visit of US climate negotiator Todd Stern to Beijing, here is a portion of the transcript of Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Qin Gang’s Regular Press Conference on June 9, 2009 which touches on the topic.

Q: The US climate [...]

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Maybe its just the gloomy Shanghai weather or maybe it’s the fact that little progress was reported in the talks between Todd Stern and Xie Zhenhua that is making me pessimistic about the possibility of a climate deal between China and the US.
As Stern’s visit to China was wrapping up, China Daily was reporting that [...]

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The public pronouncements weren’t encouraging, but perhaps the private discussions are getting somewhere.  The only story I have seen is one from Xinhua which at first blush only contains bland platitudes and the obligatory sit and chat picture.
The story reports on a meeting between Todd Stern and Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang.  Here are the [...]

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Todd Stern (quoted by Bloomberg):
“I don’t think that there’s any question that China and the other major economies have to be in the game,” Stern said today on a conference call with reporters. “They’re doing a lot already, but they’re going to need to do more actions and commit to them and be able to [...]

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Where does  last week’s flurry of climate change discussions between China and the US leave us?
By the end of the week, Kerry was sounding upbeat.  As the Guardian reported he said “he was hopeful that an agreement can be reached after what he described as the ‘most constructive and productive’ talks he has had with China [...]

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If the Chinese side has presented a confusing face to the public, the Americans have not been models of consistency either. 
Presumably, the US is offering a commitment at Copenhagen similar to the reduction goals set forth in the Waxman-Markey bill ( the “American Clean Energy Security Act,” hereinafter ACES).  These come no where close to [...]

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Let me admit what many of you have already concluded: I’m confused.  After a week of immersion in the US-China climate change dynamic, I feel less certain about where all this is heading than before.  With little more than six months to go before the world’s climate change negotiators meet in Copenhagen, it make sense [...]

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I’m still working on a post addressing where China needs to be in terms of climate commitments at Copenhagen.  If you are looking for something to read today I can recommend a report published last month by the Swedish Prime Minister’s Commission on Sustainable Development entitled “A Balancing Act: China’s Role in Climate Change.“ 
The report [...]

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