Understanding competing visions of the Indo-Pacific
While the key idea of the Indo-Pacific is growing in salience, to make more effective policy leaders should recognise the differences in views among the countries that ascribe to it, Zenel Garcia writes. The Biden Administration’s release of an Indo-Pacific Strategy represents the most recent phase of the United States’ decade-long efforts to reframe the Asia Pacific into the Indo-Pacific. It also reveals the growing recognition by American officials of the region’s economic dynamism and complex geopolitical environment. The country is not alone in this endeavour, however, given that under former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Japan began to actively promote an Indo-Pacific vision in 2007, culminating with an Indo-Pacific strategy in 2016. Other actors, including Australia, India, ASEAN, and the European Union, have followed suit. However, while there are areas of convergence in how these actors view the Indo-Pacific, there are also places where they diverge. Understanding these will be crucial for security and defence policymakers as they assess areas of possible cooperation and conflict. First, consider what is widely agreed upon. The first is that all these actors recognise that the Pacific and Indian Ocean regions, both economically and politically, are coming together. In this sense, there is a shared understanding that development and security in one of these spaces is increasingly contingent on events in the other.
India targets net-zero carbon emissions by 2070, says Modi
India’s economy will become carbon neutral by the year 2070, the country’s prime minster has announced at the COP26 climate crisis summit in Glasgow. The target date is two decades beyond what scientists say is needed to avert catastrophic climate impacts. India is the last of the world’s major carbon polluters to announce a net-zero target, with China saying it would reach that goal in 2060, and the United States and the European Union aiming for 2050.
COP26: What climate summit means for one woman in Bangladesh
China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries. Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change. In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping said his country would aim for its emissions to reach their highest point before 2030 and for carbon neutrality before 2060. His statement has now been confirmed as China's official position ahead of the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. But China has not said exactly how these goals will be achieved.
Why China's climate policy matters to us all
China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries. Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change. In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping said his country would aim for its emissions to reach their highest point before 2030 and for carbon neutrality before 2060. His statement has now been confirmed as China's official position ahead of the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. But China has not said exactly how these goals will be achieved.
Deliver on promises, developing world tells rich at climate talks
A crucial U.N. conference heard calls on its first day for the world's major economies to keep their promises of financial help to address the climate crisis, while big polluters India and Brazil made new commitments to cut emissions. World leaders, environmental experts and activists all pleaded for decisive action to halt the global warming which threatens the future of the planet at the start of the two-week COP26 summit in the Scottish city of Glasgow on Monday. The task facing negotiators was made even more daunting by the failure of the Group of 20 major industrial nations to agree ambitious new commitments at the weekend.