What policies should the next U.S. president adopt to help China save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions? September 25, 2008

No topics have risen more quickly in recent years than procuring green energy alternatives and combating climate change. How can China and the United States work together to stop global climate change? What can the new U.S. president do to help China become more energy efficient? The Federation of American Scientists will host a symposium to answer these questions at the University of California, Berkeley, on Thursday, 25 September from 11:00 am – 12:30 pm PDT.

Several international studies show that China has surged past the U.S. to become the world's largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. According to a recent study by scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, China accounted for 55 percent of the total increase in the world's greenhouse gas emissions between 2000 and 2006.

The environmental and political consequences of China's tremendous growth are profound. If China does not succeed in greening its economy and cleaning its skies, negotiations for a new climate change treaty will have little chance of success. A solution to the problem of greenhouse gas emissions depends on both China and the U.S. and it is essential that the two countries do this cooperatively.

What United States policies will have the greatest impact in helping China go green?

Mark Levine, the director of the China Energy Group, will join Jiang Lin of the Energy Foundation, David Fridley of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Tom Gold formerly of the Berkeley China Initiative, and Professor He Jianhum of Tsinghua University in China for a panel discussion moderated by Robert Collier.

Join FAS for the symposium “What policies should the next U.S. president adopt to help China save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions?” in the Sibley Auditorium on the 2nd floor of the Bechtel Engineering Center at the University of California, Berkeley. This FAS event is free and open to the public. Seating is first come, first served.

Speakers include:
• Mark Levine, Leader of the China Group at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
• Jiang Lin, Energy Foundation, Senior Vice President & Directory of China Sustainable Energy Program
• David Fridley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
• Tom Gold, Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley and former Leader of the Berkeley China Initiative
• Professor He Jianhum, Executive Vice President of Tsinghua University, and Director of the Low Energy Carbon Center in Tsinghua, China
• Robert Collier, Visiting scholar at the Center for Environmental Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley

For more information on this event or to RSVP, please contact [email protected].

Official Website: http://www.fas.org/press/events/2008sept_energysym.html