Welcome to the Green Alliance podcast. We are the Think Tank and charity that is all about achieving ambitious leadership for the environment. I'm Paul Matnami, head of politics, bringing you the highlights from our recent talk on China, climate change and the environment. We were delighted to host Barbara Finnamore,

strategic director for Asia at the Natural Resources Defence Council,

on the subject of her book,

Will China Save the Planet?

With Extinction Rebellion and the student climate strikers raising the bar of environmental politics,

China's high levels of emissions are more controversial than ever.

Here's our executive director,

Sean Spears, opening the conversation. And the topic is not only important in itself,

clearly, but it's quite important as a recurring feature in UK debates on climate action.

The argument going that we don't have to do more because our emissions are a fraction

of those of China's. Boris Johnson, in an article in the Daily Telegraph, headlined,

Dear Extinction Rebellion, your aims are worthy, but to take your pink boat to China instead,

said, the UK is by no means the prime culprit, and may I respectfully

suggest that the Extinction Rebellion crew that next Earth Day they look at China, where

CO2 output has not been falling but rising vertigiously. Here, for heaven's sake, is the real

opportunity for protest. If Britain can so dramatically reduce its dependence on coal

and its CO2 output, why can't China do the same? Surely this is the time for the protesters

to take their pink boats to Tiananmen Square and lecture the Chinese.

Whether you agree or not with Boris Johnson's statements, China's contribution to climate

action remains critical. After working on China's

energy policies for more than 20 years, Barbara Finnamor is someone who particularly understands

the significance of the country's actions for our collective future. She started her talk by showing the

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