Editor's note: Downpours in China, heat waves in India, wildfires in America ... the world is again facing the anger of nature. As extreme weather becomes more and more prevalent, what should we do? Take a look at our interview with Amanda Leland, the executive director of the Environmental Defense Fund.
CGTN: Let's talk a little bit about the extreme weather events that's been happening. In early April, there's been a strong wind in China's Jiangxi province. It was quite deadly. Several people were swept out of their homes when they were sleeping. And then there was the pouring rain in Dubai, which I don't think it happened for 7.5 decades for rain to fall that much. What's going on? How can we deal with these kinds of events?
Amanda Leland: So, while we deal with the long term threat of global warming, we also need to cope with the short term impact of these extreme weather events that you just mentioned, that they're both dangerous for people in nature, but also super disruptive to agriculture and the economy. And as the warming climate increases, the likelihood of extreme weather events, such as heat waves, typhoons, floods, droughts, wildfires (increases).
The solution is to drastically cut carbon dioxide emissions as well as methane emissions and other greenhouse gas pollution. And we do that by transitioning away from fossil fuels and increasing the share of renewable in the energy mix. Among these solutions, cutting methane has the critical role to play in limiting and slowing (global) warming, because methane is 84 times more powerful than carbon dioxide in the near term.
CGTN: Last year at Dubai, the global community reached the agreement to transition away from the fossil fuels, but apparently, activists and NGOs and governments have been calling for more actions to address the climate change. What's the next step? What's the next big thing that we should be aiming for?
Amanda Leland: Global warming affects us all, and everyone has a stake in this problem and the solutions. The transition to cleaner, more efficient energy is happening all around the world – faster than many people predicted, but it's still not happening fast enough. And that's why we need governments and industry working as hard and as fast as possible to cut greenhouse gas pollution and really accelerate that transition to cleaner forms of energy.
We've witnessed a lot of positive actions in China. The government has issued comprehensive guidelines to advance the Beautiful China Initiative, which is a vision highlighting China’s path to modernization in harmony with nature. The Chinese government has also made climate a central focus using market-based solutions. China continues to improve its national emissions trading system, which is already the largest in the world, and plans to broaden the coverage of this emissions trading system to encompass even more sectors. At the end of 2023, China developed the country's first national methane action plan, which is an important framework for how methane is used and monitored in China.
Europe and the United States are also making progress. The Biden administration has made climate and clean energy a central priority, combining strong rules and regulations on the one hand and new incentives for clean energy and energy efficiency on the other. Europe has always been known for strong climate leadership, everything from energy to buildings, to transportation. And the impressive thing is that they have stayed strong on climate, even in the face of energy price increases and supply shocks in the most recent years.
What we all know is that international collaboration is key. And that's how we keep everyone moving on the same path and working together, especially when it comes to helping developing economies that can't do it on their own. Because in the end, it's up to those countries to deliver on their climate targets and their commitments. The important thing is that all countries need to keep moving forward.
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