Deborah Gordon, Smriti Kumble, David Livingston
{
"authors": [
"David Livingston"
],
"type": "legacyinthemedia",
"centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
"centers": [
"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
],
"collections": [],
"englishNewsletterAll": "ctw",
"nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
"primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"programAffiliation": "SCP",
"programs": [
"Sustainability, Climate, and Geopolitics"
],
"projects": [
"Carnegie Oil Initiative"
],
"regions": [
"North America",
"United States",
"East Asia",
"China"
],
"topics": [
"Climate Change"
]
}Source: Getty
Climate Change Fight
With U.S. climate leadership lagging, the G-7 is finding ways to move forward in spite of U.S. reluctance while China looms as the new international climate powerhouse.
Source: CGTN America
Carnegie’s David Livingston joined CGTN’s Rachelle Akuffo to discuss the outcomes of the G-7 environment meeting focusing on the new role being played by the United States under a Trump administration. Livingston noted that the U.S. decision to not engage on climate may have backfired.
“It should be noted that the U.S. probably hoped to really hold things up by refusing to make progress on climate in this round of G-7 environment ministers talks, but it was reduced to simply . . . being a footnote at the bottom of the leaders declaration.”
Livingston pointed out that while the G-7 talks did yield needed progress on “greening of the global financial system,” that the United States and EU lag considerably behind China on these efforts. In fact, with U.S. leadership lagging on climate, Livingston says that China’s role as a leader on climate “is probably the great story of the next few decades.”
Referring to the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord as essentially an “own goal,” Livingston points out that “China’s President, Xi Jinping met not with the energy secretary of the United States, but with California Governor Jerry Brown,” as China prepares for new ways to engage the world on climate.
About the Author
Former Associate Fellow, Energy and Climate Program
Livingston was an associate fellow in Carnegie’s Energy and Climate Program, where his research focuses on emerging markets, technologies, and risks.
- Advancing Public Climate Engineering DisclosureArticle
- Working Around Trump on ClimateCommentary
Erik Brattberg, David Livingston
Recent Work
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
More Work from Carnegie Europe
- How to Join the EU in Three Easy StepsCommentary
Montenegro and Albania are frontrunners for EU enlargement in the Western Balkans, but they can’t just sit back and wait. To meet their 2030 accession ambitions, they must make a strong positive case.
Dimitar Bechev, Iliriana Gjoni
- Taking the Pulse: Can NATO Survive the Iran War?Commentary
Donald Trump has repeatedly bashed NATO and European allies, threatening to annex Canada and Greenland and deploring their lack of enthusiasm for his war of choice in Iran. Is this latest round of abuse the final straw?
Rym Momtaz, ed.
- On NATO, Trump Should Embrace France Instead of Bashing ItCommentary
Donald Trump’s repudiation of NATO goes against the Make America Great Again vision of a U.S.-centered foreign policy. If the goal is to preserve the alliance by boosting Europe’s commitments, leaning into France’s vision is the most America First way forward.
Rym Momtaz
- Europe Doesn’t Like War—for Good ReasonsCommentary
The wars in Ukraine and the Middle East are existential threats to Europe as a peace project. Leaders and citizens alike must reaffirm their solidarity to face up to today’s multifaceted challenges.
Marc Pierini
- Rewiring the South Caucasus: TRIPP and the New Geopolitics of ConnectivityArticle
The U.S.-sponsored TRIPP deal is driving the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process forward. But foreign and domestic hurdles remain before connectivity and economic interdependence can open up the South Caucasus.
Thomas de Waal, Areg Kochinyan, Zaur Shiriyev