Eco-Nomics: U.S. has ceded clean-energy leadership to China

By Paul Roberts / For The Herald

The annual United Nations climate talks (COP30) concluded Nov. 22 in Belem, Brazil, with tepid agreements for more funding to address adaptation and slow progress to reduce emissions. The agreements did not include commitments to phase out fossil fuels as demanded by many nations.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said: “The deal shows that nations can still come together to confront the defining challenges no country can solve alone.” But he added: “I cannot pretend that COP30 has delivered everything that is needed. The gap between where we are and what science demands remains dangerously wide.”

Nearly 200 nations sent delegations to COP30. The US was noticeably absent joining Afghanistan, Myanmar and San Marino. Still, there are reasons for hope. Huge strides are being made in clean energy innovation and economics, notably from China.

In an essay published in The Economist magazine, Christiana Figueres, Costa Rican diplomat and one of the primary architects of the 2015 Paris agreement said: “The question now is weather this exponential curve of clean energy innovation can outpace the exponential curve of climate impacts.” She went on to say: “The era when American politics could make or break global climate co-operation is over. The world is no longer waiting for Washington.”

https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/eco-nomics-u-s-has-ceded-clean-energy-leadership-to-china/

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