China has little incentive to position itself as a climate leader and risk assuming 'climate finance' obligations But China is still channelling large sums into climate-relevant projects around the world @katelogan.bsky.social + Lily Hartzell explain backchannel1.substack.com/p/chinas-del...

* Data centres are (still) not even close to the biggest source of electricity demand growth out to 2030 (but they're a big factor in the US)

“In 2024, China exported around $177 billion worth of clean technologies, and is set to exceed $200 billion in 2025.” - @katelogan.bsky.social, @asiapolicy.asiasociety.org + Center for China Analysis

On January 19, USAID was in line for bad but limited cuts. Project 2025 only called for cutting USAID back to 2019 funding levels. Then Elon Musk came in and three weeks later USAID was functionally eliminated. Millions of people will die and hundreds of thousands already have, mostly children

The last of EESI's COP30 briefings is tomorrow at noon EST! Panelists will explore multilateral efforts to reduce trade-related GHG emissions. Panel: 🚢 @whitehouse.senate.gov 🚢 Patrick McKenna, Climate Leadership Council More panelists below ⬇️

Ahead of #COP30, #China’s new climate targets add momentum but still fall short of Paris goals. Emissions are leveling off, yet coal use grows even as clean energy exports cut global emissions by 1%. 🇨🇳🌏 Watch our new webinar with the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) to learn more⬇️

Happening Monday.

In the era-defining US fossil fuels v China clean tech export race there's only one winner, reports @Bloomberg www.bloomberg.com/ne...

"While the West is distracted and divided, China is focused and surging ahead." In a new op-ed for the @nytimes.com ASPI's Director of the China Climate Hub @lishuoclimate.bsky.social breaks down Beijing's latest climate targets and what they mean. Read now⬇️

"China has aligned decarbonization with its economic growth strategy. In practice that means systematically building infrastructure, sophisticated supply chains and a predictable domestic market for clean energy." www.nytimes.com/2025/09/26/o...

'Beijing disappoints on ambition and misses a chance at leadership' - team at @AsiaSociety rates China's 2035 #climate target as 'careful balancing of ... domestic and international factors' asiasociety.org/poli...

If you want to understand the new #climate target of #China more deeply read this piece by @katelogan.bsky.social and @lishuoclimate.bsky.social unpacking #Chinas new #climate target - aka #NDC asiasociety.org/policy-insti...

NEW – Q&A: Will China and the BRICS fill the ‘leadership gap’ on climate change? | @anikanpatel.carbonbrief.org w/ comment from @yixiansun.bsky.social Jennifer Allan @jamesnorman.bsky.social Beatriz Mattos @katelogan.bsky.social Read here: buff.ly/WVyH1Y0

BBC interview with one of the Korea workers who was shackled and imprisoned. This was nothing but an American own goal. Attempting to blow up the largest economic development project in Georgia history. Billions in investment, thousands of jobs for Americans. youtu.be/fcwJtWU4fn4?...

NEW | Decoding #China’s upcoming climate targets 🌿🇨🇳 🇧🇷 President Xi Jinping pledged to announce China’s 2035 Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) ahead of COP30 in Belém in November. Here's what to pay attention to: ⤵️ @belindaschaepe.bsky.social @laurimyllyvirta.bsky.social

NEW: The first evidence of a solar take-off in Africa☀️✈️ x33 rise in Algeria solar panel imports in the 12 mths to June 2025, compared to previous 12 mths. x8 in Zambia x7 in Botswana x6 in Sudan x3 in each of Liberia, DRC, Benin, Angola, Ethiopia 🧵

We are delighted to invite applications for our new Program Manager position! This is a full-time position, with benefits, @upenn.edu. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis through Friday, August 29. The full job posting is available on our website at: global.upenn.edu/future-of-us...

The EU-China #climate statement is somewhat milquetoast, but it’s still significant. That the two economies have“broad space for cooperation in the field of green transition” is noteworthy given it is also the root of their trade tensions — as is their commitment to “drive a global just transition.”

Lots of commentary on the #ICJ advisory opinion on obligations of States in respect of #climate change. One thing I haven't seen discussed yet, which could have major implications for climate negotiations where developed or developing country status is key to so many obligations, is para 226:

In the past two years, with surprisingly little notice, renewable energy has suddenly become the obvious, mainstream, cost-efficient choice around the world.

Big news! New Security Beat has a new home at the Stimson Center. Since ‘07, we’ve amplified 1K+ experts on climate-conflict, health-security & resource diplomacy. To our incredible community of readers and contributors: Thank you. Risks grow—we scale. 🌍🔗 www.newsecuritybeat.org/2025/07/new-...

We continue our coverage of IRA repeal via the "One Big Beautiful Bill" with my latest dive into the Senate's new anti-China sourcing proposal. (aka FEOC rules.) As in the House version, this could effectively kill clean energy tax credits that aren't outright canceled. heatmap.news/politics/sen...

📺WATCH: ASPI's China Climate Hub hosts a discussion exploring China's #climate path amid trade tensions and global expectations. Featuring @katelogan.bsky.social, @laurimyllyvirta.bsky.social, and Anders Hove, with @lishuoclimate.bsky.social moderating the discussion.

'in 2024, Chinese companies exported approximately $177 billion of clean energy technologies and committed at least $58 billion to build new factories abroad for these products' Striking stat via @katelogan.bsky.social at the DC-based @asiasociety.org

In 2021, China joined the Kigali Agreement, and pledged to stop emitting HFC-23, a climate super pollutant 14,700x stronger than CO2. The latest atmospheric readings show China is way off track, @mckennapr.bsky.social & I report in our deep dive: foreignpolicy.com/2025/05/21/c...

New piece by @kyleichan.bsky.social, illustrating the world’s economic reality: www.nytimes.com/2025/05/19/o...

🌍 🚨 NEW | US embassy AQ data halt: On 4 Mar, the AirNow website reporting data from #AirQuality monitors at US embassies worldwide halted data sharing 🏛️ CREA calls on reliant countries to ramp up local monitoring to fill the gap👇

ASPI's Director of China Climate Hub and Climate Diplomacy @katelogan.bsky.social testified before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission to discuss China's domestic energy challenges and its growing influence over international energy markets.

Read and watch her full testimony here: www.uscc.gov/hearings/chi...

Major good news! Xi Jinping of China 🇨🇳 confirms in closed door virtual meeting that #China will put forward a new #climate target covering all economic sectors and all greenhouse gases this year. This was confirmed by #Guterres after the meeting. 👉 webtv.un.org/en/asset/k17...

Trump's China tariffs won't make America more competitive —they'll just make us pay more. My piece with @jeremywallace.bsky.social on why understanding our competitor's real strengths, not just complaining about unfair subsidies, is the path to competitiveness. foreignpolicy.com/2025/04/10/t...

The obsession with trade deficits, manufacturing jobs...Trump clearly has China envy. So we had @neilthomas123.bsky.social and @katelogan.bsky.social, two top China industrial strategy experts, on the pod. They played our riskgame and told us what we got right, wrong, and everything in-between

“If Chinese leaders want to prove they’re serious about meeting their climate obligations — admittedly, a big if — they would set a hard cap on overall greenhouse-gas emissions and a goal of reducing them by at least 30% from 2023 levels by 2035.” - @opinion.bloomberg.com

The global battle against the climate crisis needs China. I’m visiting Beijing, and that’s what I’ll tell them | Ed Miliband

By failing to properly invest in infrastructure over the past decades, the United States has ceded technological ground to China and other adversaries at a time of intensifying global competition over new technologies, writes @briancdeese.bsky.social.

20 House Republicans sign letter urging the party not to repeal "sector-wide energy tax credits" and "avoid undoing... private sector investments which will continue to increase domestic manufacturing, promote energy innovation & keep utility costs down" subscriber.politicopro.com/f/?id=000001... 🔌💡

“A large group of countries pushed for the reports to be published by the end of 2028, to allow them to feed into the second global stocktake […] however, others – including the Chinese hosts – pushed for a longer deadline, warning of ‘compression in the timeline’ that could affect participation”

Also, for the first time, China's NPC annual work report includes a directive to "take active steps to respond to green trade barriers" 积极应对绿色贸易壁垒 in the section on environment and climate - reflecting further elevation of China's cleantech exports as a political imperative.

China's NDRC report again does not include an annual carbon intensity target for 2025. It also offers an explanation for its 3.4% carbon intensity decline in 2024 missing the 3.9% target, blaming a surge in energy consumption from "post-Covid recovery and frequent extreme weather events."

Read @laurimyllyvirta.bsky.social's useful explainer on why China's 'achievement' of 'energy intensity' declining by over 3% in 2024 and its 2025 target of around 3% are quite misleading, given that the target was redefined last year as fossil energy intensity.

One week to go before the application deadline of this Friday, February 28! Please circulate this call widely to relevant potential applicants, to help us benefit from as strong and diverse an applicant pool as possible.

Brazil, Chile, Morocco, Nigeria, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Uzbekistan each bought enough solar panels from China in 2024 to meet between 3% and 5% of their annual electricy demand. www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Follow ASPI experts here on Bluesky! 👇 go.bsky.app/6uu79UM

NEW on CNN: Rubio spent years defending USAID/foreign aid as vital to US interests—arguing it was necessary to counter China. A CNN KFile review of Rubio’s Senate record show a decade of praise for USAID, including calling foreign aid “critical to our national security” . www.cnn.com/2025/02/05/p...

Flying under the radar: in its response to the Trump tariffs, China continues to flex its supply chain muscle with export controls on tungsten and tellurium. Tungsten is critical for defense applications and tellurium is needed for US solar champion First Solar’s technology.

🪨🛢️🔥 www.npr.org/2025/02/04/n...

Not a perfect analogy, but in one sense I think DeepSeek may be the solar power of computing: relatively cheap, relatively simple, and effective--and thus a huge threat to the people making huge money from the status quo. OpenAI and Meta as Exxon and Chevron.

Chinese companies installed 8 GW of solar in ‘Belt and Road’ countries in 2024 www.pv-magazine.com/2025/01/27/c...

Here is video of the terrific discussion featuring our 2nd fellowship cohort’s Climate & Environment team @michaeldavidson.bsky.social, @joannalewis.bsky.social, @katelogan.bsky.social, presenting their working papers, expertly moderated by @greenlawchina.bsky.social: www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNZT...