The Supreme People’s Court Observer recently worked with Barbara Finamore, Senior Attorney and Asia Director of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), in analyzing an crucial development concerning China’s climate change plans,  the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC)’s  National Climate Change Plan for 2014-2020 (National Climate Change Plan).  (For those readers who are not familiar with the NRDC, it is one of the US’s leading non-governmental environmental organizations and has worked with Chinese government, academic, and non-profit organizations for about 20 years.

The National Climate Change Plan,  approved by the State Council, was issued in late September but released in early November. Among the many goals identified by the NDRC are the development and expansion of climate change-related policy and legislation. It is likely that the Chinese courts will need to handle climate change-related litigation some time in the future.

The National Climate Change Plan also encourages Chinese entities to cooperate with international organizations (including the World Bank and Asian Development Bank) and foreign countries in considering foreign experience that can be adapted to the situation in China.  It is likely that climate change innovations that are successful in China will be promoted  overseas.

Our blogpost, where we analyze the latest climate change developments in  their international and domestic Chinese context, is linked here. Thank you Barbara, for giving me this opportunity!