US lawmakers push for more money to counter China in Indo-Pacific
Democratic and Republican lawmakers will next week introduce legislation to spur the White House to funnel more money to the Indo-Pacific region to help counter China. Ami Bera, the Democratic chair of the House foreign affairs Asia subcommittee, and Steve Chabot, the top Republican on the panel, hope their Indo-Pacific Engagement Act will narrow the gap between the rhetoric about Asia being a priority region and funding levels. President Joe Biden came to office pledging that he would focus his foreign policy on China. But some experts worry that the US is not matching its words with resources — a concern over multiple administrations that has been amplified this year as the US has given Ukraine billions of dollars. “Going back to the Obama administration, we’ve been trying to do this pivot to the Indo-Pacific. We’re getting there, but we’re getting there awfully slowly,” Bera told the Financial Times. “We want to make sure we’re not losing focus on the strategic competition of the 21st century — competition with China.” The bill will require the state department’s East Asian and Pacific affairs bureau — in co-ordination with the south and central Asian affairs bureau and the Asia bureau at the US Agency for International Development — to submit a report to Congress each year outlining the resources needed to meet the goals in the US Indo-Pacific strategy and upcoming National Security Strategy. It is designed to give Asia-focused officials a louder voice in the debate about the appropriate level of funding for each geographic region.
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.