China Celebrates Paris Climate Change Deal

China claims victory — and a major leadership role — in the global agreement on climate change. A commentary from Xinhua called the deal “a particularly sweet victory for China, which emerged to take a leading role” in the negotiations. The piece points to China’s recent commitments on climate change as a sign of its new role as a world leader in that regard. In the past year alone, China has signed climate change agreements with the United States and France (the host of this year’s conference); submitted an Intended Nationally Determined Contribution to the UN, pledging to have emissions peaks by 2030; and committed 20 billion RMB ($3.1 billion) to help developing countries deal with climate change. Read more