US and China vs climate change - 6 Minute English

Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC

Learning English. I'm Neil.

And I'm Rob.

In this programme, we'll be discussing

climate change and teaching you some

useful vocabulary so you can talk about it too.

Such as 'emitters' - a word used to describe

countries, industries or just things

that produce harmful substances that

harm the environment.

Substances such as carbon dioxide - an

example of a greenhouse gas. These gases

contribute to our warming planet.

And we're going to be discussing

whether the world's two biggest

emitters of greenhouse gases - the USA

and China - can work together for

the good of the environment.

But a question for you first, Rob.

In November this year, world leaders

are due to meet at a climate conference.

In which city will this be taking place? Is it...

a) Brisbane, b) Glasgow, or c) Vienna?

Well, I've heard about this, so I think it is

the Scottish city of Glasgow.

OK, Rob, I'll tell you if you are right or

wrong later. Let's talk more about

climate change then. Back in 2015,

world leaders met in Paris. It was the

first time virtually all the nations of

the world came together to agree they

all needed to tackle the issue.

Under the terms of the Paris deal,

countries promised to come back

every five years and raise their

carbon-cutting ambitions. An ambition

is something you want to achieve

even if it is difficult to do so.

President Trump pulled out of this

Paris agreement but now President

Biden has brought the USA back into it.

But the USA still has a lot to do to help

reduce its contribution to air pollution.

In China, where smog is a common

occurrence, President Xi Jinping has

pledged the country will be carbon

neutral by 2060. That means it will

do things to reduce the amount of

carbon dioxide by the same

amount that it produces.

The BBC World Service programme,

The Climate Question, has been

looking at this is more detail.

BBC journalist, Vincent Ni, explains

why Xi Jinping's plans might

be tricky to achieve...

What I'm really thinking is that this

is actually a real inherent paradox

of today's China. It is leading in

many ways on green initiatives

while at the same time it's also

a big polluter and greenhouse gas

emitter. It's got to alleviate poverty

as well as fight pollution. The thing to

watch now is how this dynamic

will play out in the next few years.

So, China currently has two things

going on - one good, one bad - an

impossible situation because it has

two opposite factors - what Vincent

called a paradox.

And this paradox is that, on one hand,

China has many projects to improve

the environment, but on the other

hand, it is a big polluter.

And as well as tackling pollution,

Vincent also said China has to

alleviate poverty - alleviate means

make less severe or serious.

But as we've said, China is not alone.

The USA is another big polluter which

is also trying to develop ways to

clean up its act - an informal way

of saying change the way it

behaves for the better.

President Biden wants the US to

achieve an 100% clean energy

economy and reach net zero

emissions by 2050. He also wants

to create 10 million new 'green' jobs.

'Green' means related to protecting

and helping the environment.

The former governor of California,

Jerry Brown, who's now with the

California-China Climate Institute

at Berkeley, also spoke to The

Climate Question programme. He thinks

the USA should do its bit to help

climate change, but it also involves

working together, globally

We have to really face reality with

humility. We have put more heat-trapping

gases in the atmosphere that are still there,

than China has - that's the historical fact...

So, I think we need to stop pointing

fingers as though evil is outside ...

and we have to work with China

and Russia and Europe and

everywhere else, as partners in

humankind's very dangerous

path forward. So, I'd worry more

about that than figuring out all

the flaws of which there are many

in my competitive friends and enemies.

Jerry talks about facing the situation

with humility... so, not trying to be more

important than others and admitting

your bad qualities. He says the USA

should not think evil - the polluters in

this case - are from elsewhere.

Stop pointing fingers at other people!

Yes. The solution, maybe, is not to

blame others but to work together,

trust each other, and make tough

choices rather than pointing out

each other's flaws - faults or mistakes.

Hopefully many countries can work

together more when they attend

this year's climate conference, Rob.

But in which city?

Yes. I said Glasgow, in Scotland.

Was I right?

You were, Rob. Well done. World leaders

are due to meet there in November this year.

Right, now there's just time to recap on

some of the vocabulary we've discussed.

Yes. We talked about emitters - countries,

industries or just things that produce - or

emit - harmful substances that harm

the environment.

'Ambitions' are things you want to

achieve even if they are difficult.

A 'paradox' is an impossible situation

because it has two opposite factors.

To 'alleviate' means, make less

severe or serious.

'Humility' involves trying not to be more

important than others and admitting your

bad qualities. And 'flaws' is another word

for faults or mistakes.

Well, hopefully there were no flaws

in this programme! That s all for now,

but we'll be back again soon to

discuss more trending topics and

vocabulary here at 6 Minute English.

Goodbye for now!

Bye!