China, Climate Change, and the Pivot to an “Ecological Civilization”

Some world events happen quickly – or, at least, they reach a loud and dazzling tipping point that announces change in spectacular fashion. Think of cheering protesters on top of the Berlin Wall. But sometimes the biggest changes don’t happen in a moment before our eyes; and the drama reveals itself only when we see the before and after shot. That is the story of a rising China. Few, in the West at least, can point to a moment when that nation became the commercial powerhouse we know today.

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to visit China in 1983 as a student at Nanjing University, and again several times in the last few years – so I did, in some ways, experience the shock of that transformation. It was like returning home from a vacation to find your garden suddenly in fully bloom.  Back then, China was a nation filled with bicycles. Today, the bikes are surrounded by an ocean of automobiles driven by the world’s largest middle class.

As a result of this furious growth, China has become the world’s leading producer of the greenhouse emissions. But they’re also preparing to launch the world’s largest market-based system to limit carbon pollution.

In remarks to the Climate Action Reserve Conference tomorrow, May 6th, I’ll explore the ways China is now stepping up to solve this environmental challenge and remake themselves as an “ecological civilization.” The Conference will be a deep dive on climate solutions, markets, and other solutions-oriented topics with leading thinkers and policymakers.

The question some are asking: Is China still mostly part of the problem or now mostly part of the solution? I know my thoughts, but I’m curious how others view it.