https://www.scmp.com/rss/138042/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Sino-US relations are at their lowest point in more than half a century. The two countries disagree on just about everything, but there is one topic on which they still seem to agree – climate change. Shortly after last month’s rancorous meeting between Chinese and American diplomats in Alaska, China’s Foreign Ministry announced the two sides would start a climate “working group”. Not long thereafter, US President Joe Biden invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to participate in this month’s... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3128571/us-china-climate-change-cooperation-sparks-optimism-addiction?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3128571/us-china-climate-change-cooperation-sparks-optimism-addiction?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Apr 2021 16:30:09 +0000 It is well established (outside the White House) that Russian President Vladimir Putin did his best in 2016 to help Donald Trump get elected. It appears that he is at it again. Recently, American intelligence officials briefed the House of Representatives that Putin’s army of hackers is backing Trump’s re-election. But why would Putin do this? What is in it for him? Trump likes to boast that he is tougher on Russia than any other US president. His administration has strengthened sanctions... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3065013/why-donald-trumps-re-election-would-make-vladimir-putin-very-happy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3065013/why-donald-trumps-re-election-would-make-vladimir-putin-very-happy?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Mar 2020 17:00:12 +0000 Well, he did it: President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the Paris agreement on climate change. That leaves the rest of the world looking to China and the European Union for leadership to combat the greatest long-term threat facing humanity (not to mention nature itself). This is an incredible change. Until recently, China was the bogeyman of climate change. A decade ago it replaced the US as the largest source of “greenhouse gas” pollution causing global warming and other... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2096607/catastrophic-climate-change-more-likely-donald-trump-has?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2096607/catastrophic-climate-change-more-likely-donald-trump-has?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 02 Jun 2017 03:46:54 +0000 The recent Rio+20 conference on sustainable development revealed how difficult it is to persuade politicians to take environmental protection seriously. The declaration, 'The Future We Want', addresses important topics, such as plans to establish sustainable development goals and new measures of gross domestic product that account for environmental services. But, overall, the conference was a flop. Here in Hong Kong, sustainability has been a declared objective of government for almost two... https://www.scmp.com/article/1005886/can-new-broom-really-sweep-clean-polluted-hk?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1005886/can-new-broom-really-sweep-clean-polluted-hk?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Jul 2012 16:00:00 +0000 China has overtaken the United States to become the largest source of greenhouse gases, the pollution that causes climate change. This has increased pressure on China to do more to combat the problem. But is this pressure justified? Does China really have responsibility for climate change? The answer depends on a number of factors. One is history. On a practical level, we cannot say that China is as responsible for past emissions of greenhouse gases as the countries of the West. They began... https://www.scmp.com/article/974784/burden-wealth?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/974784/burden-wealth?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 28 Jul 2011 16:00:00 +0000 The crisis at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power facility has rekindled doubts in Hong Kong about atomic power, not least because of our proximity to the Daya Bay plant and the government's plan to double our reliance on nuclear energy. Several government officials were sufficiently concerned to visit Beijing recently to discuss nuclear energy with their mainland counterparts. It is likely that new plant designs will be safer than the Daiichi facility, but the key to nuclear safety is... https://www.scmp.com/article/966076/nuclear-push-blinds-us-safer-options?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/966076/nuclear-push-blinds-us-safer-options?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Apr 2011 16:00:00 +0000 Hong Kong's universities are preparing to launch four-year undergraduate degrees next year. For the most part, they are not adding more specialised training to existing programmes. Instead, they are adding general education and liberal arts courses, notably in the arts, humanities and social sciences. Given the community's emphasis on jobs and financial success, some may question whether this move towards more education in the liberal arts might be doing students a disservice. But there is... https://www.scmp.com/article/739601/art-adding-our-bottom-line?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/739601/art-adding-our-bottom-line?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 Mar 2011 16:00:00 +0000 Last month, the Hong Kong government released its long-awaited climate change strategy and 'action agenda'. Next month, it will host a conference of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group. As the government works hard to dress up Hong Kong's reputation for climate action, it should acknowledge some hard truths about the scale of the city's contribution to climate change. Today, the Social and Policy Research Unit of the Hong Kong Institute of Education, in collaboration with Civic Exchange,... https://www.scmp.com/article/726713/under-cloud?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/726713/under-cloud?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 Oct 2010 16:00:00 +0000 The June 23 Legislative Council vote on the government's constitutional reform package is shaping up to be a no-win situation for Hong Kong's pan-democrats. Neither supporting the package nor voting against it in Legco will do much to further democracy. Supporting it without extracting significant concessions from the government may reduce support for the democrats among their core followers. If the package fails to pass, the government will blame the democrats for the lack of political... https://www.scmp.com/article/715466/putting-price-yes-votes-political-reform?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/715466/putting-price-yes-votes-political-reform?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 May 2010 16:00:00 +0000 Not for the first time, young people in Hong Kong have shown more caring for the environment and more compassion for others, including other species, than we adults tend to display. I am referring to the recent threat by students of Kennedy School in Pok Fu Lam to boycott Ocean Park if it adds more wild dolphins to its collection. In recent weeks Ocean Park has been criticised for its plans to study dolphins in the Solomon Islands and possibly to capture some of them if the population is found... https://www.scmp.com/article/714809/cashing-dolphin-slave-trade?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/714809/cashing-dolphin-slave-trade?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 May 2010 16:00:00 +0000 As the Democrats and Republicans rally round their candidates for the US presidency, it's a good time to ask what we can expect the winner and his administration to do about climate change. Will the next president continue George W. Bush's policy of trying to kill the international climate regime, or will he take this crucial problem more seriously? One thing seems clear: starting next year, the US is unlikely to continue opposing efforts to devise policies that will significantly reduce... https://www.scmp.com/article/651091/heat-america?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/651091/heat-america?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Sep 2008 16:00:00 +0000