News

Clean energy has been a focus of cooperation between California and China in various sectors, said US officials who are looking forward to deepening the engagement to achieve ambitious climate goals and economic benefits.

A new California-China Climate Institute report, produced with colleagues from UC San Diego’s Power Transformation Lab and the Institute of Energy, Environment and Economy at Tsinghua University, developed a novel modeling approach with a high spatial and temporal resolution to identify feasible and efficient pathways for deploying renewables, storage systems, and transmission lines, by decade, from 2020 to 2060. This new research highlights potential changes to the energy technology choices, the pace of renewable deployment, and the uneven local impacts over time and space.

China accounts for about half of the world’s new building area and the building operation accounts for one-fifth of the country’s carbon emissions. Therefore, it can benefit greatly from building energy efficiency. China connected with California's energy efficiency policies in the 1980s and developed building and appliance efficiency standards. While China’s initial standards built off of those of California’s, some of California’s recent efficiency standards (for example, for computer monitors) were built upon those of China’s. Continued dialogue and competition between California and China will help develop groundbreaking energy efficiency policies and reduce emissions from buildings.

Our new California-China Climate Institute report, produced with colleagues from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, analyzes policies and programs, implementation mechanisms, and lessons-learned from California in reducing methane emissions from the solid waste sector. California’s lessons and experiences provide insights for other regions on best practices that could be adopted, as well as existing challenges and gaps to achieve methane reductions.

The recently concluded COP27 international climate change summit in Sharm El Sheik offered world leaders, experts, and activists an opportunity to stop and take stock one year after a landmark agreement to “phase down” coal emissions. Already, there is reason for concern.

They met with leaders from all over the world, confronted a bevy of vital issues, and delved into their complexities. But throughout the recent United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Egypt, Berkeley Law’s experts sounded a common theme. “We must work together to confront this crisis,” said Mary Nichols, vice chair of the school’s California-China Climate Institute.

The U.S. and China might resume climate talks soon, according to former California governor Jerry Brown.

As the governments of China and the United States stall over climate cooperation, subnational entities — including states, provinces, cities and universities — are pressing forwards and finding common ground. They are uniquely positioned to test, accelerate and form partnerships on new ideas and policies.

Environmental experts at a recent online conference called on the US and China to collaborate to tackle global illegal deforestation, an issue that both nations pledged to support at last year's United Nations Climate Change Conference.