Taiya M. Smith
{
"authors": [
"Taiya M. Smith"
],
"type": "legacyinthemedia",
"centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
"centers": [
"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
],
"collections": [],
"englishNewsletterAll": "asia",
"nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
"primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"programAffiliation": "AP",
"programs": [
"Asia",
"Sustainability, Climate, and Geopolitics"
],
"projects": [],
"regions": [
"East Asia",
"China",
"North America"
],
"topics": [
"Political Reform",
"Climate Change"
]
}Source: Getty
China's Role at Copenhagen
China has a unique role to play at Copenhagen: it is not a developed country nor is it simply a developing country, but rather somewhere in the middle.
Source: The British Embassy's 100 Voices 100 Days
China has a unique role to play at the Copenhagen negotiations. The Chinese already have a domestic plan in place, laid out by President Hu. They intend to use this plan to pressure developed nations to recognize China's unique position as a rapidly growing developing nation that has taken on a leadership role, yet still does not fit the profile of an industrialized nation.
Even if a global deal is not reached at Copenhagen, the negotiations will be a success if the world comes up with a framework that allows all countries, including China, to move forward to the next stage of international action while continuing to deal with climate change on a domestic level.
About the Author
Former Senior Associate, Energy and Climate Program, Asia Program
Smith has spent the last decade working in international negotiations. Most recently, she served as a member of Secretary Hank Paulson’s senior management team from 2006 to 2009 as the deputy chief of staff and executive secretary for the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
- Why Go Strategic?: The Value of a Truly Strategic Dialogue Between the United States and ChinaOther
- After CopenhagenArticle
Uri Dadush, Vera Eidelman, Taiya M. Smith
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 Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center
- Lake Qaraoun and Migratory PressuresCommentary
Lebanon’s largest water reservoir is a house of many mansions when it comes to converging failures.
Camille Ammoun
- Afro-Iraqis, Climate Change, and Environmental Injustice in BasraArticle
Afro-Iraqis experience political, economic, and social marginalization and discrimination, which exposes the poorest members of the community to the harsh realities of the region’s climate disaster.
Zeinab Shuker
- Kuwait’s Bidun in the Face of Climate Change are Invisible, yet ExposedArticle
Mitigating the repercussions of climate change in Kuwait is crucial for lessening economic disparities and achieving social justice.
Courtney Freer
- “Greening” the Maghreb or Exploiting It?Paper
Unless the European Union-led energy transition provides economic development to Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia, the process may be perceived as a new form of extraction.
Yasmine Zarhloule
- Women, Water, and Adaptation in Ait KhabbashCommentary
The burden of environmental degradation is felt not only through physical labor but also emotional and social loss.
Yasmine Zarhloule, Ella Williams