Still opportunities for China-US climate cooperation

Despite the growing signs of changing climate in 2017, with massive storms, flooding and wildfires, US President Donald Trump did not mention "climate change" in last week's State of the Union speech. He did not refer to "renewable energy" either, breaking from nearly all recent presidential addresses. Trump did say that he had "ended the war on American Energy", the "war on clean coal".

So, what is happening in the United States?

Since Trump took office a year ago, the US Environmental Protection Agency has proposed repealing the Clean Power Plan - former president Barack Obama's landmark initiative to reduce emissions in the power sector - and is exploring options to replace it with a weaker policy. President Trump has consistently prioritized fossil fuels, including expanding the area of coastal waters available for oil drilling and opening more public lands for oil, gas and coal extraction. The controversial Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines were recently approved to bring oil sands from Canada to US refineries and markets. The Trump administration also launched a review of US auto efficiency standards, with again, a likely push to weaken them. Many of these actions will be subject to lengthy legal challenges, and some may ultimately be reversed, but the administration's direction is clear.