About the China Environment Forum
Housed within the Wilson Center's Environmental Change and Security Program, the China Environment Forum (CEF) has implemented projects, workshops, and exchanges that bring together US, Chinese, and other environmental policy experts to explore the most imperative environmental and sustainable development issues in China and to examine opportunities for business, governmental, and nongovernmental communities to collaboratively address these issues.
CEF previously worked on the Turning the Tide on Plastics in Asia initiative examining trends, innovative partnerships and policies to reign in plastic pollution in China and Southeast Asia. Other past initiatives include: Choke Point: China explored the country’s water-energy nexus, and Cooperative Competitors which examined various areas for the US and China to cooperate or compete on climate action at both government and nongovernmental levels.
CEF’s strategic pillars
1. China and the Energy Transition in the Global South: As the world’s largest investor in clean energy technologies, China is flexing its muscle in the Global South, where countries like Indonesia, Pakistan, and Ethiopia are seeking to strengthen their energy security through low-carbon development. CEF is producing research and analysis that helps decision-makers stay ahead of the curve in understanding China’s next move and what it means for US interests.
2. Cultivating US and Chinese Leadership on Food and Climate: Food and agriculture generate 31% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. As the United States and China are food superpowers, CEF will delve into drivers of GHGs in food production in both countries (including agricultural imports) in this new three-year project. Our planned dialogues and publications aim to create a roadmap for collaboration and joint learning to mitigate these food-related emissions.
3. Vulnerable Deltas is CEF’s newest water and climate project. In partnership with the East-West Center, CEF and its partners will generate innovative research, policy dialogues and learning tools around climate, pollution and development threats facing five Asian river deltas — Three in SE Asia (Chao Phraya, Mekong, Mahakam) and two in China (Yangtze, and Pearl). A large component of CEF’s work on this four-year project will focus on greening China’s BRI investments in Southeast Asia to protect rivers and their deltas.
The Plastic Pipeline: CEF and the Wilson Center’s Serious Games Initiative developed an award-winning educational video game: The Plastic Pipeline. In the game, players explore the life cycle of single-use plastics, and uncover policies, consumer and business actions that can plug pollution leaking into our oceans.
Internships with the China Environment Forum