This Is China’s Chance to Prove It’s a Climate Leader: Editorial

Now that the US has withdrawn — again — from the Paris accords, China will surely be tempted to shrink its own climate ambitions. In fact, this is the moment to expand them.

Last month, signatories to the 2015 Paris Agreement were meant to submit updated climate action plans, known as nationally determined contributions. Along with most others, China missed the deadline. (The US goals submitted last year by President Joe Biden’s administration will presumably be ignored by his successor.) Traditionally, Chinese officials have preferred to set modest targets they can be sure to meet, if not exceed. Most observers ...