{"id":4609,"date":"2025-08-11T22:01:26","date_gmt":"2025-08-11T22:01:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/?p=4609"},"modified":"2025-08-11T22:01:27","modified_gmt":"2025-08-11T22:01:27","slug":"climate-leadership-us-steps-back-china-steps-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/2025\/08\/11\/climate-leadership-us-steps-back-china-steps-in\/","title":{"rendered":"As U.S. steps back from climate leadership, China and other nations step in"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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Chinese President Xi Jinping and Brazilian President Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva meet in Beijing in May 2025. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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As U.S. steps back from climate leadership, China and other nations step in<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n \n \n August 11, 2025<\/span>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n <\/div><\/div>\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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Original story by Shannon Gibson<\/em><\/p>\n

When President Donald Trump announced in early 2025 that he was withdrawing the U.S.\u00a0from the Paris climate agreement<\/a>\u00a0for the second time, it triggered fears that the move would undermine global efforts to slow climate change and diminish America\u2019s global influence.<\/p>\n

A big question hung in the air: Who would step into the leadership vacuum?<\/p>\n

I study<\/a>\u00a0the dynamics of global environmental politics, including through the United Nations climate negotiations. While it\u2019s still too early to fully assess the long-term impact of the United States\u2019 political shift when it comes to global cooperation on climate change, there are signs that a new set of leaders is rising to the occasion.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

World responds to another US withdrawal<\/h2>\n

The\u00a0U.S. first committed to the Paris Agreement<\/a>\u00a0in a joint announcement by President Barack Obama and China\u2019s Xi Jinping in 2015. At the time, the U.S. agreed to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions 26% to 28% below 2005 levels by 2025 and pledged financial support to help developing countries adapt to climate risks and embrace renewable energy.<\/p>\n

Just two years after the landmark Paris Agreement, Trump stood in the Rose Garden in 2017\u00a0and announced he was withdrawing the U.S.<\/a>\u00a0from the treaty, citing concerns that jobs would be lost, that meeting the goals would be an economic burden, and that it wouldn\u2019t be fair because China, the world\u2019s largest emitter today,\u00a0wasn\u2019t projected to start reducing<\/a>\u00a0its emissions for several years.<\/p>\n

President Joe Biden brought the U.S. back into the agreement. Now, with Trump pulling the U.S. out again \u2014 and taking steps to eliminate U.S. climate policies<\/a>,\u00a0boost fossil fuels<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0slow the growth of clean energy<\/a>\u00a0at home \u2014 other countries are stepping up.<\/p>\n

On July 24, 2025, China and the European Union issued a joint statement\u00a0vowing to strengthen their climate targets<\/a>\u00a0and meet them. They alluded to the U.S., referring to \u201cthe fluid and turbulent international situation today\u201d in saying that \u201cthe major economies \u2026 must step up efforts to address climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n

In some respects, this is a strength of the Paris Agreement \u2014 it is a legally nonbinding agreement based on what each country decides to commit to. Its flexibility keeps it alive, as the withdrawal of a single member does not trigger immediate sanctions, nor does it render the actions of others obsolete.<\/p>\n

The agreement survived the first U.S. withdrawal, and so far, all signs point to it surviving the second one.<\/p>\n

One bloc emerging as a powerful voice in negotiations is the\u00a0Like-Minded Group of Developing Countries<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 a group of low- and middle-income countries that includes China, India, Bolivia and Venezuela. Driven by economic development concerns, these countries are pressuring the developed world to meet its commitments to both cut emissions and provide financial aid to poorer countries.<\/p>\n

China, motivated by economic and political factors, seems to be happily filling the climate power vacuum created by the U.S. exit.<\/p>\n

Read the full story in The Conversation >><\/a><\/p>\n

Related: Gibson Climate Justice Lab insights from COP29 >><\/a><\/p>\n

Learn more about Shannon Gibson’s research >><\/a><\/p>\n

Learn more about the Environmental Studies Program >><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":182,"featured_media":4610,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[67,9,16],"class_list":["post-4609","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research","tag-environmental-policy","tag-environmental-studies","tag-faculty"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAs U.S. steps back from climate leadership, China and other nations step in<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/2025\/08\/11\/climate-leadership-us-steps-back-china-steps-in\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"As U.S. steps back from climate leadership, China and other nations step in - 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