When it was announced in 2023 that the African Union would become a full member of the G20, I darkly joked on a podcast that the AU’s entry into the body could very well mark the moment the G20 lost its status as one of the most important global coordination forums. Mark my words, I said, soon The Economist will be like “Uhhh, the G20 is OVER – it’s the ...
Category: Environment
In Congo’s Cobalt Belt, a Chinese Miner’s Waste Leaves Villages Poisoned and Furious
By Camille Lafont Carrying her sore-pocked daughter across her decaying field, Helene Mvubu says she is one of thousands to have fallen victim to the toxic waste defiling the Democratic Republic of Congo's mining capital. ...
China and LAC at Odds: Blue Diplomacy in the Era of IUU Fishing
In China’s engagement with the Global South, climate diplomacy is one area where Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries play a particularly decisive role. The Global South is set to be disproportionately affected by climate change, yet its governments must negotiate solutions with the world’s largest emitters—China ...
China at COP30 and the New Politics of Climate Change
With the U.S. absent from two major international summits this month, the G20 in South Africa and the COP30 in Brazil, we got an early look at what the post-American order is starting to look like. In both instances, China moved ...
Chinese Mining Companies Need Deeper Dialogue With Overseas Communities
By Chen Yu Minerals like nickel, lithium, cobalt, and copper are foundational to the global clean-energy transition. Solar panels, wind turbines, EVs, and battery storage cannot be built without them. Yet extracting, processing, and transporting these “transition minerals” can be resource-intensive, ...
G7 to Launch ‘Alliance’ Countering China’s Critical Mineral Dominance
By Ben Simon G7 energy ministers meeting in Canada on Thursday planned to launch a new alliance to counter China's critical mineral dominance, in a push for more reliable access to the resources that power advanced technologies.
Eye-Rolling Through the Apocalypse
November’s COP30 gathering in Belém, Brazil, marks three decades since COP1 in Berlin in 1995, and raises a sobering reminder of how deep we’ve sunk into a climate morass of our own making amid non-stop warnings. The evacuation of millions of people and the deaths ...
Chinese Online Outrage Over $80 Billion Zambia River Suit
More than six months after 50,000 liters of toxic water from a Chinese-run mining site spilled into Zambia's Kafue River, there's still no resolution to what's become a massive environmental crisis. The government is siding ...
Turning Trash into Treasure: Chinese Waste-to-Energy Projects in Central Asia
Since the 1990s, energy has been at the heart of China’s engagement with Central Asia. What began with oil and gas pipelines has, in recent years, expanded into solar and wind, reflecting Beijing’s push toward greener development. Now, a new frontier is opening: waste-to-energy (WtE).
China May Strengthen Climate Role Amid U.S. Fossil Fuel Push
By Issam Ahmed and Ivan Couronne All eyes are on China this week, as the world's biggest polluter readies a new emissions-cutting plan -- reinforcing its role as a steadfast defender of global climate diplomacy while Europe stalls and the United ...
How Chinese Takeout Bags Became Africa’s Street-Style Hit
Chinese social media spotted a quirky trend in African cities like Nairobi. Sturdy, brightly printed Chinese takeout bags, the kind you get from a hotpot chain or milk tea shop, are showing up everywhere. These are not souvenirs from China. They sell for over a dollar ...
Zambian Government Tries to Calm Fears Over Contaminated Water From Chinese Mine Disaster
The Zambian government is seeking to reassure the public that municipal water supplies in communities along the Kafue River are still safe, even though recent tests detected excessive levels of heavy metals following a major environmental disaster at a Chinese-owned copper mine six months ago.
Zambian Documentary Slams Chinese Companies’ Environmental Record; Embassy Responds, Accuses Producers of “Hidden Motive”
The Chinese embassy in Zambia denounced an hour-long documentary program made by the independent national daily newspaper News Diggers that detailed extensive environmental and labor violations committed by Chinese mining companies operating in the country.