The US and China can’t stop sniping at each other even as the world turns into a furnace.
As the Biden administration enacted the country's biggest-ever climate law worth some $374 billion, US officials couldn’t resist a dig at Beijing for ending environmental talks in retaliation for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.
“The US is acting on climate change,” Nicholas Burns, the US ambassador to China, said on Twitter, adding that Beijing should “reconsider its suspension of climate cooperation with the US.”
That drew a rebuke from China’s Foreign Ministry, with a spokesperson tweeting: “Good to hear. But what matters is: Can the US deliver?”
China may have a point. Under former President Donald Trump, the US walked away from the Paris Agreement. Even under Biden, the country has fallen short of its promise to deliver billions in climate funding for developing and vulnerable nations.
And in terms of bragging rights, China may have the upper hand. The nation is by far and away the biggest spender when combining public and private investments aimed at accelerating the energy transition, according to data compiled by Bloomberg NEF.
Neither Biden’s IRA nor Europe’s Green Deal appear likely to change that. China spent $297.5 billion last year on the energy transition, while EU member states devoted $155.7 billion and the US $119.7 billion, using the BNEF methodology.
China Inc. is also trying to catch up to global peers on reporting standards, with a new set of voluntary guidelines for companies to report environmental, social and governance metrics recently taking effect as part of the nation’s push to reduce emissions and meet a net-zero target by 2060.
The larger question is whether anybody is doing enough to cut their greenhouse gas emissions.
The investments unleashed by the new US law alone won’t be enough to meet the nation’s pledge under the Paris Agreement to slash emissions at least 50% from 2005 levels by the end of the decade. Meanwhile, China is deepening its reliance on fossil fuels as the economy slows, with plans for 169 new and expanded coal projects.
The one thing public climate spending plans in the US, China and the EU all have in common is that the investments aren’t enough, said Belinda Sch?pe, a climate diplomacy researcher on EU-China relations with E3G.
“To succeed in bringing about the global transition needed, the US, China, and the EU, as the largest emitters, all need to significantly scale up investments — at home and abroad,” she said.
Everything Everywhere All At Once
One prominent figure who has so far been able to escape government scrutiny with his far-flung interests in the US and China is Elon Musk.
When the Tesla billionaire isn’t tweeting that he doesn’t want to buy Twitter after all, or joking about purchasing sports teams, he apparently likes to pen columns for obscure Chinese magazines. This time, it’s the official publication of the Cyberspace Administration of China, the powerful agency that oversees data security for companies from Alibaba to Tencent and works with other government entities to censor online content.
He didn’t say anything particularly controversial, laying out a familiar vision for how technology can ensure humanity’s future. The entrepreneur touched on his businesses including Neuralink, which is working on brain-machine interfaces, and the humanoid Tesla Bot, the first prototype of which is set to debut soon. He addresses the column to his “Chinese friends” and described Space Exploration Technologies’ mission to create a self-sustaining city on Mars.
Playing nice with China could be a smart business strategy as its cheaper electric-vehicle competitor BYD expands into overseas markets after becoming the biggest producer in the nation’s ultracompetitive market.
Tesla has even asked the Chinese government to help its suppliers that are being impacted by power cuts in Sichuan province, which is seeing its worst drought on record.
But Musk’s loyalties may be called into question given his close ties to Beijing at a time when US-China relations are at the worst in decades. Shanghai is home to Tesla’s most productive factory in the world and the company opened a new showroom in January in the Xinjiang region.
“Tech execs trying to maintain healthy relationships in China are increasingly seeing that decision being taken out of their hands by either Chinese regulations, US users, or the US government,” said Kendra Schaefer, head of tech policy research at Trivium China.
“If Musk isn’t sitting in front of a congressional committee within a year being grilled on his relationship with China, I’ll be flabbergasted.”
生词
Snip: Cut with scissors.
Snip at each other. 相互攫取对方利润
As the world turns into furnace 随着世界进入大熔炉
Rebuke: Express sharp disapproval
Draw the rebuke 引起强烈反对
Retaliation: Revenge
Brag: Say something in a boastful manner
Brag 吹牛， 自夸
Have the upper hand: have the advantage over someone or something
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