What’s the Deal with the U.S.-China Climate Deal?

Originally aired November 25, 2014

In light of the November 2014 climate negotiations between U.S. President Barack Obama and China President Xi Jinping, SSF convened global experts to discuss the negotiations and their historical and potential significance. While some heralded the diplomatic moves as historic steps for climate security and others doubted the agreement was a game changer, this webinar addresses the key questions and adds context to the international politics behind the landmark agreement ahead of the 2015 Paris Convention.

Speakers

Peter Saundry (Moderator)

Executive Director, National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE)

Dr. Peter Saundry is Executive Director of the National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE), a non-partisan organization of scientists, environmentalists, entrepreneurs, and policy makers working to improve the scientific basis of environmental decision-making. He is an experienced leader in building coalitions of individuals and organizations to promote environmental science and its application to societal concerns.

Robert Perciasepe

President, Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES); Former Deputy Administrator, U.S. EPA

Robert Perciasepe is President of the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) and former Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He has spent more than 30 years as an environmental policy leader in and outside government, also serving as Maryland’s Secretary of the Environment and as chief operating officer of the National Audubon Society.

Tom Peterson

Founder, Center for Climate Strategies

Tom Peterson founded the Center for Climate Strategies (CCS) in 2004 to help governments and stakeholders understand and formulate responses to climate change. Over the past decade this included developing a widely recognized template for comprehensive, consensus-based planning that led to 22 U.S. state climate plans, national scale-up of subnational climate action planning, and Low Carbon Development Planning systems for the Provinces of China.

William Schulte

Fellow, U.S.-China Partnership for Environmental Law, Vermont Law School

William Schulte is a Fellow at the U.S.-China Partnership for Environmental Law (PEL) at Vermont Law School, supporting a broad range of capacity-building activities in environmental and energy law through partnerships involving U.S. and Chinese universities, government agencies, and NGOs. Prior to PEL, he practiced environmental law in the public interest in Newark, New Jersey, representing environmental and community groups on permit reviews, environmental justice, and energy infrastructure matters.