Chris James to discuss China and the Paris Climate Accord Dec. 7

Christopher A. James will speak on energy and environmental policy and the political drivers in play today that influence the breadth and depth of China’s efforts to reduce GHG emissions and improve its air quality at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 7 in Academic West 204 on the Western Washington University campus as part of the WWU Huxley College of the Environment Speaker Series.

China can be an enigma; it is important to understand the cultural context for its actions, and what this means for overall global efforts to meet the Paris Climate Accord. James has been working with Chinese government officials for the past decade, and will present on the ground perspectives and evidence that is not often, or accurately, reported by Western media.

James advises regulators, advocates, and businesses on how to reduce greenhouse gas, criteria, and toxic pollutants to meet existing and new air standards, improve water quality, and protect consumers. His projects span the areas of air quality, energy efficiency, distributed resources, demand response, and linking energy and the environment in air quality and energy planning processes.

James has 30 years of experience working in air quality, covering nearly every facet of this topic, from developing ambient monitoring networks, emissions inventories, and control measures, to implementing and enforcing such measures. He champions multi-pollutant air quality planning and qualifying energy efficiency as both a reliability resource and an air quality control measure.

James is the former director of Air Planning and manager of Climate Change and Energy Programs for the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), where he served as staff lead for the state’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. James was also the DEP representative to the Connecticut Energy Conservation Management Board, which provided advice and oversight for utility energy efficiency programs.

James also worked in the Seattle regional office of the EPA, where he received two “gold medals” for his work to enforce air quality regulations. At one point, he had one-third of all such cases in the United States. James also worked in the private sector for Synapse Energy Economics and for consultants to the utility and biomass energy industries.

This talk is co-sponsored by WWU’s Institute for Energy Studies.