U.S.–China Climate Dialogue

September 16-17, 2008

In December 2009, the world's leaders will gather in Copenhagen to negotiate a successor agreement to the Kyoto Protocol, and U.S.-China engagement will be key to its success. To help prepare for these negotiations, the Worldwatch Institute, the Center for American Progress, and the Heinrich Boell Foundation held an off-the-record roundtable aimed at strengthening U.S.-China collaboration on climate policy in the next 15 months.

The roundtable, followed by a public symposium, brought together roughly 45 participants representing a diverse set of stakeholders, including energy and climate experts from the United States and China, U.S. Congressional staff, labor unions, major companies, nongovernmental organizations, think tanks, and representatives of the European Union. Featured participants included Christopher Flavin, President of the Worldwatch Institute; Malachy Hargadon, Environment Counselor, Delegation of the European Commission to the U.S.; Frank E. Loy, Former Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs; Jiahua Pan, Senior Fellow and Executive Director of the Research Centre for Sustainable Development at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS); and Orville Schell, Arthur Ross Director of the Center on U.S.-China Relations at the Asia Society.

The United States and China are the world's largest emitters of greenhouse gases, and their leadership will be essential to the success of the Copenhagen negotiations in 2009. By providing an opportunity for discreet discussions among key players from the two countries, the roundtable encouraged a candid and productive dialogue on the economic, policy, and scientific issues that are critical to both nations under a new global framework.

During the two-day roundtable, participants discussed the following:

• Key economic, energy, and emission trends in both the United States and China
• Current and potential impacts of climate change to both countries
• Approaches to climate and energy policy
• Status of negotiations and goals for a new global agreement
• Governance structures in the United States and China
• Respective priorities for the climate negotiation process
• International competiveness and trade
• Opportunities for further cooperation and dialogue

Through the two days of informative discussion, roundtable participants reached a mutual understanding of the climate change threat, as well as of the political and economic challenges that both countries must face in dealing with it. This common challenge creates positive opportunities for cooperation in the specific fields of clean energy, emissions accounting, and the development and transfer of technology. There is also a great opportunity for U.S. and Chinese policymakers to exchange ideas about developing national strategies for mitigating and adapting to climate change.

Both countries should take advantage of existing bilateral processes to strengthen this cooperation, and pledge an enhanced commitment and greater dedication of resources. While technical cooperation should be continued and increased, a breakthrough in the international climate negotiations will require direct dialogue at the highest political levels in both countries.