The evolution of China’s climate diplomacy – with Taylah Bland

Environment China

In this episode of our Women in Sustainability series, we are talking about the evolution and underpinnings of China's climate diplomacy. Our guest is Taylah Bland, Schwarzman Fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis. She specializes in China’s domestic climate politics and international environmental law. She is a graduate of New York University, Shanghai and Tsinghua University as a Schwarzman Scholar.

In this episode we cover:

• China's tendency to boost domestic policy first, before making climate commitments.
• China's signing on to climate agreements in the early phases, such as the Kyoto Protocol and Clean Development Mechanism
• The importance of China's domestic policy leading up to its Paris commitment
• Whether China's climate diplomacy commitments lag domestic trends so much, such as on renewables, that they are more for splashy announcements and soft power
• What further domestic policy steps are needed before China can enhance its ambitions for the next round of climate talks

Further reading:

Taylah Bland, "Key Factors Shaping China’s Engagement With International Environmental Law," Asia Society Policy Institute, April 2023, at https://asiasociety.org/policy-institute/key-factors-shaping-chinas-engagement-international-environmental-law.

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Episode produced by: Anders Hove