After the collapse of international climate change talks in Copenhagen in 2009, Mark Lynas’ devastating article, published in the Guardian, laid the blame squarely at China’s feet, accusing the Chinese government of deliberately scuttling American-led efforts to secure an international agreement on climate change. This begs the question: Is China really to blame for the collapse at Copenhagen, and what plans if any does the country have for curtailing its own cascading environmental problems?
Joining hosts Kaiser Kuo and Will Moss this week are Jonathan Watts, Guardian correspondent and author of the new book When A Billion Chinese Jump, and Alex Wang, Senior Attorney and Director of the China Environmental Law Project at the Natural Resources Defense Council in Beijing. Both experts in Chinese environmental policy, Jon and Alex join us for an in-depth discussion of Jonathan’s new book on China’s growing environmental crisis and the various efforts underway to solve it.