Trump climate actions are an opening for China

European officials issued rebukes and officials around Asia said they would continue their drive toward cleaner fuels after Trump laid the groundwork to reverse his predecessor’s climate-change policies. Trump began on Tuesday​ to repeal the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan of stricter carbon-dioxide limits on utilities. The change leaves an opening for China and other countries to seize leadership in the global effort to curb the rise in temperatures. “We still advocate that all sides should move with the times, grasp opportunities, fulfill their promises and earnestly take positive action to jointly promote implementation of (the Paris) agreement,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said. According to The Wall Street Journal, China is seizing an opportunity to position itself as the more responsible global power. At Davos in January, President Xi Jinping endorsed the Paris agreement, calling on countries to “stick to it instead of walking away from it.”