Smoke billows from smokestacks and a coal fired generator in Hebei, China. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

President Biden's climate change diplomacy was in the spotlight this week following the conclusion of the COP26 summit in Glasgow and his virtual meeting with Xi Jinping. Yet for all their promises to take the lead on tackling climate change, the administration’s attempt to 'compartmentalize' climate negotiations with China has in practice meant turning a blind eye to China’s bad behavior in exchange for nonbinding resolutions. 

In Politico Magazine, Hudson Research Fellow Nate Sibley argues that the conventional, left-of-center approach to climate change is failing, and lays out a blueprint for a conservative approach to climate leadership. See below for key takeaways, and join Nate for an upcoming conversation with U.S. Congressman John Curtis, chairman of the Conservative Climate Caucus, on the future of U.S. climate policy.

Key Takeaways

From Nate Sibley's Politico Magazine op-ed, "How the Next Republican President Can Restore U.S. Leadership on Climate Change"

1. Climate Policy Cannot Be Divorced from Foreign Policy

A Republican global climate agenda should reflect traditional conservative support for a robust foreign policy that prioritizes U.S. interests and values. This would entail, above all, publicly holding China, Russia and other egregious polluters to account—and using America’s economic clout to impose real costs when necessary. More broadly, a GOP approach would jettison the focus on climate as a standalone issue in international diplomacy and instead incorporate it into related efforts on trade, international investment, human rights and security.

Taken together, the pillars of this approach—accountability for polluting countries, helping allies invest in climate-friendly technology and continuing to foster a market-based approach to emissions at home — would integrate climate into the broader U.S. global agenda. 

2. Polluters Should Be Subjected to Powerful Sanctions

As overseer of the world’s reserve currency, the United States possesses a uniquely devastating ability to incentivize climate action through sanctions and other forms of economic statecraft. One straightforward way to do this would be expanding the Global Magnitsky program, which targets human rights abuse and corruption, to include instances of serious environmental harm, such as those responsible for China’s dirtiest overseas coal plants and the Maduro and Ortega regimes’ illegal deforestation and strip mining.

3. Use Free Trade to Unlock Green Technology

A Republican administration would focus less on tariffs and other restrictive measures and more on using free trade and investment to unlock green technology. Currently, the focus on regulating fossil fuels out of existence without viable alternatives threatens American jobs, generates higher energy bills and benefits China as it continues to burn coal with abandon. More aggressively reshoring the manufacturing of new green tech to the United States, and “ally-shoring” to deepen trade links with partners will also ensure the economic benefits are shared by the American people and across the democratic world.

Quotes may be edited for clarity and length.

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