Podcast appearances and mentions of barbara finamore

Recently China led negotiations to end longstanding hostilities between Iran and Saudi Arabia. In the US, we've seen how even one person willing to oppose the popular consensus can dictate our nation's response to climate change. Here's my 2019 conversation with BARBARA FINAMORE about her provocative book, Will China Save the Planet?, which explores China's big picture, long-term strategy to reap the technological, economic, and political benefits of seizing leadership of the global response to climate.    

Markham interviews Barbara Finamore, senior attorney and Asia Director at the Natural Resources Defense Council, about her Oxford Energy Institute article, "Clean tech innovation in China and its impact on the geopolitics of the energy transition."

Sometimes life brings you to an unexpected place. For Barbara Finamore, that place was China. In this episode, learn about how the former Senior Director for Asia at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and founder of their China program went from environmental litigator in Washington, DC to becoming a member of Foreign Policy’s U.S.-China 50. Barbara shares valuable lessons in climate action progress from the 1990s to the present in China, as well as how to best approach the US-China collective work on solving climate change. Relevant links: Barbara Finamore’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/bfinamore Barbara Finamore’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bfinamore/ Will China Save the Planet Book: https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Will+China+Save+the+Planet%3F-p-9781509532667

Today on The Negotiation, we speak with Barbara Finamore, Senior Strategic Director for Asia at the Natural Resources Defense Council and the author of Will China Save the Planet (2018). She started her career with the NRDC as an environmental litigator, a position she left after getting married to a U.S. diplomat in the 1980s. Her husband took her to China in 1990, when the country was considering its earliest initiatives for sustainable development.Barbara was there to witness first-hand the country's signing of the Framework Convention on Climate Change, as well as the drafting of the world's first sustainable development blueprint for the 21st century, known as Agenda 21. Since the mid-1990s, Barbara has been heading the NRDC's energy program in China.Says Barbara: “I got hooked on the challenges that China faced and getting to know the people who were working to address those challenges, many of whom became leaders in China's energy and climate policy.”China's environmental problems took off alongside its rapid economic growth in 2001 when the country joined the WTO. Its performance during that decade would earn China the moniker of being the world's “economic miracle”.China's most valuable commodity during this period? Coal: the world's dirtiest fossil fuel and the leading source of CO2 emissions in the world, as well as the source of China's devastating air pollution. Coal was the cause of 2013's “airpocalypse”, during which time the Chinese citizens were breathing in an equivalent of one-and-a-half cigarettes per hour every day. In 2018, China launched its Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan which intends to cut down coal use.COVID-19 has had a tremendous impact on China's energy and environmental sectors. Chinese citizens have become less willing to take public transit due to crowding. There is a greater interest in private vehicles (which will have negative effects on climate change in the long run). The government has increased its focus on electric vehicles as essential to its long-term industrial transformation—a major element in its “new infrastructure” initiative (other elements include 5G and artificial intelligence).In the short-term, the Chinese government is taking steps to ease its environmental controls on gasoline-powered engines since the automotive industry as a whole is a pillar industry in China, being responsible for some 10% of jobs and nearly 10% of all retail sales.

In a show taped in late February, Kaiser chats with Barbara Finamore, senior attorney and senior strategic director, Asia, for the Natural Resources Defense Council, who shares her perspective on China's impressive progress in curbing greenhouse gas emissions, reducing the price of renewable energy, and producing electric vehicles. Tune in for a rare bit of optimism in these tough times!6:05: How much China has invested in renewable infrastructure14:48: The impetus behind Chinese environmental reform28:59: The unsung heroes of China’s environmental movement35:44: How jobs in clean energy can help revitalize an economy45:23: Zero-emissions vehicles, and what the U.S. can learnRecommendations:Barbara: Subscribing to the China Dialogue newsletter, for updates on environmental news in China. Kaiser: The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration, by Isabel Wilkerson.

In the US today, we see how even one person willing to oppose the popular consensus can dictate our nation’s response to climate change. Meanwhile China has leapt into the vacuum created by our retreat. In her provocative new book, Will China Save the Planet?, BARBARA FINAMORE, Senior Attorney and Asia Senior Strategic Director, Natural Resources Defense Council, explores China’s big picture, long-term strategy to seize the leadership of the global response and reap the technological, economic, and political benefits.

Barbara Finamore discusses whether China will take the lead in saving our planet from environmental catastrophe. Now that Trump has turned the United States into a global climate outcast, will China take the lead in saving our planet from environmental catastrophe? Many signs point to yes. China, the world's largest carbon emitter, is leading a global clean energy revolution, phasing out coal consumption and leading the development of a global system of green finance. But as leading China environmental expert and author of Will China Save the Planet? Barbara Finamore will explain in this talk, it is anything but easy. The fundamental economic and political challenges that China faces in addressing its domestic environmental crisis threaten to derail its low-carbon energy transition. Yet there is reason for hope. China's leaders understand that transforming the world's second largest economy from one dependent on highly polluting heavy industry to one focused on clean energy, services and innovation is essential, not only to the future of the planet, but to China's own prosperity. We will also hear from respondent Radhika Khosla, Research Director at the Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development, Somerville College.

Barbara Finamore discusses whether China will take the lead in saving our planet from environmental catastrophe. Now that Trump has turned the United States into a global climate outcast, will China take the lead in saving our planet from environmental catastrophe? Many signs point to yes. China, the world's largest carbon emitter, is leading a global clean energy revolution, phasing out coal consumption and leading the development of a global system of green finance. But as leading China environmental expert and author of Will China Save the Planet? Barbara Finamore will explain in this talk, it is anything but easy. The fundamental economic and political challenges that China faces in addressing its domestic environmental crisis threaten to derail its low-carbon energy transition. Yet there is reason for hope. China's leaders understand that transforming the world's second largest economy from one dependent on highly polluting heavy industry to one focused on clean energy, services and innovation is essential, not only to the future of the planet, but to China's own prosperity. We will also hear from respondent Radhika Khosla, Research Director at the Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development, Somerville College.

With the U.S. announcing its intention to withdraw from the Paris Agreement and China now embracing the concept of global climate governance, it’s easy to forget that 20 years ago, discussion of climate change in China was almost nonexistent. One person particularly well-placed to reflect on China’s transformation into a purported environmental hero is Barbara Finamore, founder of the Natural Resources Defense Council’s China Program and author of the book Will China Save the Planet?. Although China has certainly come a long way from the days when NRDC first started sharing its experience on energy efficiency and “negawatts” in the 1990’s, it is still a land of contradictions. We sat down with Barbara to explore China’s ongoing battle to fundamentally transform its economy in order to protect public health and reduce emissions, and the challenges it faces both domestically and globally.  You can check out Barbara’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Will-China-Planet-Barbara-Finamore/dp/1509532641

This episode evaluates China’s progress in the global endeavor to combat climate change by reducing carbon emissions and investing in green technology. Our guest, Ms. Barbara Finamore, explains Beijing’s current climate change policies and their role in China’s national priorities like the Belt and Road Initiative. She also looks ahead to how China might continue advancing clean energy at home while playing a growing role in international climate change initiatives. Ms. Barbara Finamore is Senior Strategic Director for Asia and the founder of the China program at the Natural Resources Defense Council, focusing on climate, clean energy, and urban solutions in China. Ms. Finamore also served as president and chair of the Professional Association for China's Environment (PACE) and is the co-founder and president of the China-U.S. Energy Innovation Alliance.  

This episode evaluates China’s progress in the global endeavor to combat climate change by reducing carbon emissions and investing in green technology. Our guest, Ms. Barbara Finamore, explains Beijing’s current climate change policies and their role in China’s national priorities like the Belt and Road Initiative. She also looks ahead to how China might continue advancing clean energy at home while playing a growing role in international climate change initiatives. Ms. Barbara Finamore is Senior Strategic Director for Asia and the founder of the China program at the Natural Resources Defense Council, focusing on climate, clean energy, and urban solutions in China. Ms. Finamore also served as president and chair of the Professional Association for China's Environment (PACE) and is the co-founder and president of the China-U.S. Energy Innovation Alliance.  

Barbara Finamore, who founded the National Resource Defense Council’s China program, discusses with China Focus editor-in-chief Charlie Vest about China’s clean energy sectors, domestic environmental activism and its push to develop renewable energy infrastructure abroad. Barbara Finamore founded NRDC’s China program, focusing on climate, clean energy, environmental protection, and urban solutions in China. She is the author of "Will China Save the Planet?" Charlie Vest is a Master’s Candidate in Chinese Political and Economic Affairs at the School of Global Policy & Strategy, and the Editor-in-Chief for the China Focus blog for 2018-2019. This episode was recorded at UC San Diego, and is a production of the 21st Century China Center Editor/Host: Samuel Tsoi, Charlie Vest Production Support: Mike Fausner Music: Dave Liang/Shanghai Restoration Project

Carmel O'Shannessy is on the air to talk about the new language she found developing in Australia. Brian Brooker talks about his eclectic, Revolutionary War-themed Brooker's Founding Flavors ice cream shop. Paul Freedman discusses what makes American cuisine inherently American with so many foreign influences. Finally, Barbara Finamore looks at how China could be showing us the answer to solve pollution problems.

Bronwyn Tarr discusses how dance and music creates social bonds. Barbara Finamore explore the role of China in the global climate change conversation. Bernie Su talks about the potential of digital storytelling. Catriona Morrison talks about autobiographical memory formation and how our memories can sometimes be wrong.

During President Obama’s second term in office, the United States and China reached several agreements aimed at curbing each country’s greenhouse emissions, a major factor in climate change. Following years of stalemate, the partnership between the world’s two largest economies and emitters paved way for the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement. However, much of this progress remains in question following President Trump’s decision in 2017 to withdraw the United States from the multinational accord. As the world’s largest emitter of carbon dioxide per capita, the full withdrawal of the U.S. from the Paris Agreement has cast doubt on the ability of the international community to combat climate change successfully, and was seen by many as a full retreat of American leadership. However, in a new book, Will China Save the Planet? author Barbara Finamore explains that under Xi Jinping, China has emerged as the leader in environmental governance, and has the potential to fill the void left by the United States. On November 28, Ms. Finamore discussed her book, and explored how China overcame internal obstacles to transform itself into a pioneer in the clean energy revolution.   Barbara Finamore is a senior attorney and Asia director at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Ms. Finamore founded NRDC’s China Program, which promotes innovative policy development, capacity building and market transformation in China with a focus on climate, clean energy, environmental protection and urban solutions. Ms. Finamore has had 35 years of experience in environmental law and energy policy, focusing on China for over two decades. She has also worked in NRDC's nuclear nonproliferation program, at the U.S. Departments of Justice and the Interior, and as a consultant to the United Nations Development Programme and the Center for International Environmental Law.  

Barbara Finamore, author of the new book Will China Save the Planet?, talks to Jan Berris, National Commitee Vice President, about China's path to becoming a responsible stakeholder on environmental issues.

Chinese factories churn out parts and products that end up in our cars, our kitchens and our cell phones. And all that productivity has improved the lives of its citizens, many of whom can now afford cars and cell phones of their own. It’s also made China the global leader in carbon emissions. But in her new book, “Will China Save the Planet,” Barbara Finamore says that China may well take the lead in saving the world from environmental catastrophe. How? By phasing out coal and investing in green energy to power its factories and keep its cities moving. With the US government cutting efforts to curb carbon pollution, is it possible that China is our best hope for saving the planet? Guests: Barbara Finamore, Asia Senior Strategic Director at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC); Author, "Will China Save the Planet?" (Polity, 2018) Carter Roberts, President and CEO, World Wildlife Fund, United States

July 10, 2017 Despite US President Trump’s planned withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, many American citizens, city mayors and companies still want to move ahead with transitioning to a low carbon economy. „Trump’s power isn’t as strong as you may think,“ said Barbara Finamore, Asia Director of the American environmental organization Natural Resources Defense Council (NDRC) recently in Berlin. Still, Trump’s announcement has damaged America’s international standing, she said and called on China and Germany to now take leading roles in the fight against global warming. Finamore was talking to MERICS Communications Director Claudia Wessling at a conference jointly organized by MERICS, the European Climate Foundation and the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC).

Opening Remarks Tom Gold, UC Berkeley George Breslauer, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost, UC Berkeley Keynote Address: China's Environment: Opportunities and Challenges for the International Community Barbara Finamore is a Senior Attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). She founded and directs NRDC's China Program, which promotes innovative policy development, demonstration and capacity building in energy efficiency, advanced energy technologies, green buildings, environmental law and public health. Ms. Finamore has had over twenty-five years of experience in environmental law and policy. She is also co-founder and President of the China-U.S. Energy Efficiency Alliance, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote global sustainability by working with China to harness efficiency as a viable energy resource.