BERKELEY – The California-China Climate Institute this week celebrated five years of informing policymakers, fostering cooperation, and driving climate solutions at all levels in the U.S. and China. 

Top scholars, government officials, and climate leaders – including the Institute’s chair and vice chair, former California Governor Jerry Brown and former California Air Resources Board Chair Mary Nichols – will mark the occasion later this week during Climate Week NYC, where the Institute was launched back in 2019.

“For five years, despite the headwinds, the Institute has been building bridges and opening doors between the U.S. and China through climate research and dialogue, and deeper engagement,” said Governor Brown. “Sustaining and expanding this collaborative work is our only shot at averting catastrophe and we’ll keep doing our part to secure a safer, saner future.”

Since its launch, the Institute has facilitated new climate-focused engagement and agreements, hosted high-level dialogues and convenings, and published new research to spur deeper collaboration and accelerate action in the U.S. and China. The Institute’s milestones over the past five years include:

• Facilitating climate-focused cooperation between the U.S. and China. The Institute helped build and sustain momentum for the two biggest U.S.-China climate pacts – the Joint Glasgow Declaration in 2021 and the Sunnylands Statement in 2023 – and deliver on the commitments made in these agreements. This included publishing an 11-paper research series identifying opportunities for both nations to accelerate climate action under Glasgow, individually and together, and recently convening the U.S.-China High-level Event on Subnational Climate Action announced in the Sunnylands Statement, and launching an associated subnational expert working group.
• Supporting Governor Newsom’s historic visit to China. This marked the first visit by a U.S. governor to China in more than four years and spurred new and expanded climate and clean energy MOUs between the state of California and China and its provinces and municipalities – with the Institute serving as the secretariat for these agreements. These, and subsequent Institute-supported exchanges and delegation visits, also helped set the stage for further national and subnational cooperation, culminating with the Sunnylands Statement and recent exchanges between senior climate officials in the U.S. and China.
• Releasing more than four dozen research reports, briefs, and summaries for policymakers. Drawing on expertise within the University of California system, and working in partnership with top academic and research institutions in the U.S. and China, the Institute has released a broad range of publications to inform policymakers and support innovative climate solutions in both countries. Notable projects have included: a report detailing how China can phase-down coal-power generation over the next decade; an interactive tool – the States’ Climate Action Map – to help policymakers and researchers track climate action by state and sector across America; and a research series exploring shared pathways to carbon neutrality for the U.S. and China.
• Hosting more than 50 events and webinars to deepen understanding and collaboration. The Institute has hosted a broad range of in-person and virtual events to spotlight new research, innovative climate solutions, and opportunities for collaboration with top experts, government officials, and other climate leaders. Recent topics have included: reducing methane emissions from rice and manure in China; learning from international partnerships in China's clean energy sector; and exploring the overlapping solutions and significant public health co-benefits of addressing air pollution and climate change.

This is just a small sample of the Institute’s work, with many more initiatives to come from its team of experts in the years ahead.

The University of California-wide California-China Climate Institute is housed jointly at UC Berkeley’s School of Law – through its Center for Law, Energy & the Environment – and the Rausser College of Natural Resources.