China EconTalk: Former Obama adviser on China-US issues

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The ongoing China-US trade war is complicating the climate change battle. John Holdren, a former adviser to the US President Obama on science and technology and an environmental policy professor at Harvard University, advised the two countries to build on, rather than retreat from, the current achievements in the climate change arena.

"President Trump's approach to trade and the tensions with China, that the approach has created, are not helpful to the world economy, international relations and the United States… the leadership in the federal government is not supportive of this general area (climate change)," Holdren said.

The United Nations (UN) recently issued a sobering report on climate change that brought China and the US, the world's two biggest carbon emitters, to attention. Washington has bailed on the Paris Agreement for fighting climate change, while China met its 2030 emission goal this year, 12 years ahead of schedule.

"China and the United States were on the same page on climate change until President Trump came into office. And again, large part of the United States outside the federal government remains in the [Paris] Agreement," Holdren noted.

CGTN Photo

He also mentioned that technological innovation would play a significant role in tackling the emissions issue. "We need cleaner, more efficient energy sources. We need to figure out how to do that affordably. We need to figure out how to make nuclear reactors less expensive and safer…"

But the adviser admitted that both China and the US have done well in " addressing really worldwide challenges."

"In both countries, we have actually made lots of progresses. And we need to make more [progresses]. We should build on what we've done right. We should not retreat from what we've done right," he advised.

(CGTN's Xia Cheng also contributed to the story)