The Chinese and Indian governments have made unforeseen progress in the clean energy sector recently. Both countries seem to be far ahead of their pledged goals from the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.  This unexpected progress is welcome news for the climate and for meeting the UN accord to slow climate change as China and India are first and third largest producers of global greenhouse gases, respectively.

As The New York Times explains, the United States — the second leading global emitter — still lags behind, noting recent threats to pull out of the Paris Agreement and a steadfast commitment to the coal industry. While the U.S. administration has stated that fighting climate change would harm the American economy, the Chinese and Indian governments have taken big steps to ensure healthier air quality in cities like Beijing and New Delhi and to slow the advance of detrimental warming effects.

Photo: Wind turbines loom over a field in India | Photo Credit: Saravask via Wikimedia Commons