Climate and energy policy is once more near the top of the US government’s policy agenda, and occupies a prominent position in China’s development planning and policy. Both countries strive for global leadership on clean energy technologies, and both are preparing national pledges to reduce or constrain their carbon emissions for the period after 2020. The active pursuit of this policy agenda has implications for the strategic relationship of the world’s superpowers, and for the G20 agenda.

In this public forum, speakers will discuss China’s climate, energy and urbanisation policies, the US administration’s latest energy and climate policy announcements, both countries’ positions going into the post-2020 UN climate negotiations, and strategic implications. The forum comes just ahead of the Australian C20 (or ‘Civil Society 20’) meetings, and will discuss implications for the G20 agenda.

The forum features:

Dr Fuqiang Yang is a senior adviser at the US Natural Resources Defense Council on climate change, energy and environment. Previously Dr Yang was director of Global Climate Solutions, WWF International, and vice president of Energy Foundation and chief representative of Energy Foundation Beijing Office. Before he moved to the United States in 1984, Fuqiang Yang worked with China’s Energy Research Institute and State Planning Commission.

Matt Murray is Counselor for Economic Affairs at the US Embassy in Canberra. Earlier he was Special Assistant for East Asia Pacific to the Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment. He spent seven years in diplomatic postings in China.

Hugh White is Professor of Strategic Studies at ANU. His interests include the development of US-China strategic relations. He has served as an intelligence analyst, as a journalist, and as a senior adviser on the staffs of Defence Minister Kim Beazley and Prime Minister Bob Hawke.

Xuemei Bai is Professor of Urban Environment and Human Ecology at the ANU Fenner School of Environment and Society. Her work focuses on drivers and impacts of urbanisation, urban system dynamics, urban environmental management, system innovation in cities and sustainability transition in Asia.

Paul Toni is WWF’s National Manager for Science, Policy and Government Partnerships. Paul is based in WWF’s Canberra Office. He has previously worked as WWF’s Program Leader on climate change.

The forum will be moderated by Dr Frank Jotzo, Director of the Centre for Climate Economics and Policy, Crawford School of Public Policy, ANU.