Christopher Tang

Opinion | Heatwaves and drought must turn US and China away from rivalry towards cooperation on climate change

The world’s two largest economies have a responsibility to lead the fight against climate change, but have instead adopted a divisive tit-for-tat strategy

In addressing the climate challenge, they could learn from water management in Israel, flood control in the Netherlands, and vertical farming in the UAE

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Christopher Tang

Published: 6:45am, 31 Aug 2022

The United States and China may be on different geopolitical paths but they face a common climate crisis. Instead of expending all their efforts on competing against each other, the world’s two biggest economies have a responsibility to address the climate threat – before it is too late.

As the US-China conflict widened from trade and technology to finance and education, both nations have started to decouple their economies. In the US, “friend-shoring” to diversify supply bases beyond China, “near-shoring” with Mexico and reshoring are gaining momentum.

At the Group of Seven meeting in June, US President Joe Biden announced plans to invest US$600 billion in infrastructure in developing countries as a counter to China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

Soon after, during the June BRICS summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping encouraged other countries to join the bloc currently comprising Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa. Iran and Argentina have since reportedly applied to do so.

This tit-for-tat strategy threatens to split the world into at least two blocs. It would take much effort but generate little benefit, if any. Meanwhile both countries, along with many others, continue to suffer from extreme weather, which severely affects lives and economies.

03:12

At least 4 dead as California’s biggest wildfire of 2022 continues to spread

In the US, the number of wildfires and size of burnt areas have increased over the past decade. From January to July this year, more than 39,000 wildfires left close to 6 million acres burnt. Although half the country is in drought, six rare one-in-1,000-year rain events occurred last month, causing flash floods and destroying homes.