China and the European Union have teamed up to support the fight against climate change after US President Donald Trump began undoing his predecessor’s plans for deep cuts in US greenhouse gas emissions. Mr. Trump’s order strikes at the heart of the global Paris Agreement in 2015 to tame the rise in world temperatures that hit record highs in 2016. Many countries have condemned Mr. Trump’s plan and added that a vast investment shift from fossil fuels to green energy is already taking place, triggering both job creation and less air pollution.
European Climate Commissioner Miguel Arias Canete said that the EU saw the Paris Agreement as a “growth engine” for job creation and new investment opportunities. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lu Kang added that Chinese government cooperated with former US President Barack Obama on climate policy. He also urged the United States to “move with the times,” adding that “regardless of how other countries’ climate policies change, China as a responsible developing country will not change its commitments, goals, policies and actions related to climate change.”
Donald Trump’s main target is Barack Obama’s Clean Power Plan, which requires US states to curb carbon emissions from power plants and that was instrumental in committing the US to fulfill its pledge made under the Pars Agreement to cut emissions by 2025. However, President Trump did not say whether he would pull out of the Paris Agreement, the cornerstone of efforts to fight climate changes such as floods, waves, droughts and rising sea levels.
