The question is how fast.”But getting emissions down is not so straightforward, especially for a country of 1.4 billion people. Even as it is phasing out coal plants at home, it is building coal plants abroad as part of an ambitious “One Belt, One Road” initiative, designed to expand Chinese global influence. “China can continue to play a leading role in the global climate debate, despite this short-term increase of emissions, which is temporary,” he said. One thing still lost in the fog of global climate negotiations is whether the Chinese leader really wants to be the global leader on climate. That would not be enough to stave off the most catastrophic effects of climate change.

Source: New York Times November 15, 2017 00:14 UTC