Like bamboo sprouts after the rain, nuclear reactors are going up quickly across China. There are 36 reactors under development, and Beijing can approve as many as 10 new ones a year. Within a decade, China will likely pass the United States—which has 93 operating commercial nuclear reactors at 54 power plants—as the world’s biggest generator of nuclear power.

In a new Occasional Paper published by the Wilson Center’s Middle East Program and ECSP, journalist Taylor Luck examines the climate priorities of wealthy and middle-income countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Luck analyzes the policies adopted by MENA states, highlighting gaps and offering recommendations to strengthen climate action in a region strained by both instability and climate change.

The contentious and ambiguous entanglement that military forces have with their natural environment inevitably sparkles public interest and academic research. So how does the existing scholarly work inform our assessment of this convergence?

A window into what we are reading at the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program

China is Leading the World on Renewable Energy (Yale 360)

In November, Chinese and U.S. climate envoys pledged to triple global renewable energy by 2030, signaling renewed cooperation between the top two greenhouse gas emitters. However, the two countries are not quite on equal footing when it comes to renewable energy.

Progress—and Room for Improvement—in UNEP’s Annual Report (United Nations Environment Programme)

How effective is the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)’s work on the fight against climate change? Its Annual Report analyzed the work it has done over the past year to do so. The UNEP supports key areas in which progress has been made, including waste reduction through the Global Framework on Chemicals and global instrument on plastic pollution, biodiversity protection efforts through various frameworks, and loss and damage mobilization through COP28.

A window into what we are reading at the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program

Food, Climate, and Conflict Nexus a Priority at the UN Security Council (Food and Agriculture Organization)

The United Nations Security Council’s High-Level Open Debate takes place in Guyana this week, and the signature event of that nation’s presidency is “The Impact of Climate Change and Food Insecurity on the Maintenance of International Peace and Security.” Several briefers have emphasized the interconnectedness between climate change and conflict, including Secretary-General António Guterres and UNFCCC Chair Simon Stiell.