You don’t need to be a climate scientist to spot something’s off with our weather lately. South China’s been drenched in non-stop downpours—Hong Kong, for example, just clocked up four black rainstorm warnings in eight days. Meanwhile, Isesaki in Japan’s Gunma hit a sweltering 41.8°C, smashing records. At the root of all this chaos? Yep, global warming.
South China’s Wild Weather: Global Warming Isn’t Just a Theory
Let’s break it down. South China’s relentless rains aren’t just bad luck—they’re classic hallmarks of climate change at work. Two culprits stand out: a surge in atmospheric moisture and, just as crucial, strange shifts in wind and weather systems.
Warming oceans mean heavier evaporation, which equates to a sky that holds way more water. Some studies reckon a 1°C rise brings about a 7% bump in air’s water-vapor capacity. As a monsoon zone, South China lives and dies by the summer monsoon, with moisture funneling in from the Bay of Bengal and the South China Sea. These days, that monsoon is showing up earlier and stronger—a perfect recipe for the sorts of torrential rains battering the region. Stronger low-level jet streams have been acting like highways for moisture, forming what meteorologists call “water vapor convergence zones.” Top it off with a turbo-charged Western Pacific subtropical high (the weather boss of East Asia’s rainy season), which this year nudged north a whopping 13 days early and you get more opportunities for wet, warm air to clash with cold fronts lingering across South China and the Yangtze. Result: a deluge that just doesn’t quit.
America’s Contradictory Stance: Politics Over Planet?
Now, you’d think all this would be enough to get the supposed global leader—yes, the United States—moving on climate action. Think again. Trump’s back, and, true to form, he’s yanked the U.S. from the Paris Climate Accord (again), axed all clean energy subsidies, and is doubling down on fossil fuels.
The irony: While Washington loves to grandstand about climate leadership, both Trump and Biden have consistently knocked China for supposedly “flooding the world” with solar panels, electric vehicles, and batteries—products that, let’s be honest, are absolutely vital for the world’s green transition. U.S. officials keep harping on “Chinese overcapacity” like it’s some villainous plot, even as American manufacturers can’t compete on price or scale.
If every country only produced enough for themselves, exports would disappear and so would most of world trade. Labeling China’s productive sectors as guilty of “overcapacity” turns global economics on its head. In practice, China’s affordable, mass-produced green tech is a lifeline for developing countries and a boon for the global environment.
Don’t just take it from me. Columbia economist Jeffrey Sachs recently marvelled at a Shanghai solar component factory: nearly no presence of people, humming with robots and AI, churning out dirt-cheap solar panels that once cost $100 per watt now just $0.08. He’s gone on record saying, “We should double China’s solar exports”—not choke them off!
Green Parties or Just Green Talk?
Which brings us to Europe’s Green Parties. Germany’s Greens previously sat in government, their leaders nabbing headlines and prestigious posts, like UN General Assembly president. But while they talk the green talk, they’ve also thrown up obstacles to Chinese clean tech entering Europe, echoing America’s anti-China script.
Here’s the contradiction: if these parties were truly as green as they claim, they’d be embracing China’s green product exports, not blocking them. Buying Chinese solar panels and EVs would do more to curb emissions at home than a thousand speeches or photo ops at climate rallies. Alas, for many of these parties, politics and electioneering trumps (pun intended) the planet.
And on China’s side? The country pledged carbon peaking by 2030 and neutrality by 2060, but by some accounts, it’s already peaked—emissions stopped rising last year. At this rate, China might reach full carbon neutral closer to 2050. If anyone’s delivering on grand climate promises, it’s China, not the so-called Green parties. Maybe, if those parties are serious about saving the Earth, it’s time they showed a little support for the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts—for once, words and actions could actually align.
Lo Wing-hung
Bastille Commentary
** The blog article is the sole responsibility of the author and does not represent the position of our company. **
