Friday, March 29, 2024 | 11:00 AM EDT - 11:30 AM EDT

On November 14th, 2023, the United States and China jointly issued the “Sunnylands Statement on Enhancing Cooperation to Address the Climate Crisis”, which introduced several areas for U.S.-China climate cooperation. The statement aims to increase activities between states, provinces, and cities in the two countries, and to restart Track 1, 1.5, and 2 dialogues on energy transition strategies.

Meanwhile, John Kerry and Xie Zhenhua, the two veteran climate envoys responsible for hammering out global deals to address climate change, have both recently stepped down. Their successors, Liu Zhenmin and John Podesta, will build on a foundation of goodwill and communication, but have major challenges ahead. On March 29, 2024, Kelly Sims Gallagher and Li Shuo join the National Committee to discuss the future of U.S.-China climate diplomacy.

Speakers

Kelly Sims Gallagher

Kelly Sims Gallagher is interim dean and professor of energy and environmental policy at The Fletcher School, Tufts University. She directs the Climate Policy Lab and the Center for International Environment and Resource Policy at Fletcher.

Dr. Gallagher served in the second Obama administration as a senior policy advisor in The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and as senior China advisor in the Special Envoy for Climate Change office at the U.S. State Department. She is a non-resident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a member of the board of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She serves on National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine’s Committee on Deep Decarbonization and on the board of Energy Foundation China. Dr. Gallagher is a member of the National Committee’s U.S.-China Track II Dialogue on Climate Finance.

Li Shuo

Li Shuo is the director of the China Climate Hub at the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI) based in Washington, D.C. His work focuses on analyzing China’s climate and energy policies and supporting the international community’s engagement with China’s climate agenda.

Prior to joining ASPI, Li Shuo led Greenpeace’s environmental advocacy in Beijing for 13 years. He also has more than a decade of experience in United Nations environmental negotiations, including on climate change, biodiversity, oceans, plastic pollution, and ozone.

Mr. Li studied political science and international relations at Johns Hopkins SAIS and Nanjing University. He is a German Chancellor Fellow.