- North American climate governance is weakening.
- China’s emissions plateauing strengthens its credibility.
- China leads the global clean-energy buildout.
- China’s global brand is improving.
North American climate governance is weakening.
When the New York Times headlined an article “China’s Green Triumph“, I knew China’s green narrative had gained traction.
While the U.S. is backtracking, “China is equipping other countries to fight climate change,” the newspaper wrote. “It’s a role reversal.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission just made it easier for companies to omit shareholders’ proposals, which would impact ESG proposals, weakening a lever to influence companies as part of a stewardship program.
In Canada, Budget 2025, which was narrowly passed Nov. 17, backtracked on anti-greenwashing provisions recently introduced in the Competition Act.
The amendments to the Competition Act include:
- Removing the requirement for businesses to substantiate their environmental benefit claims based on internationally recognized methodology standards.
- Removing the ability for third parties to bring cases directly to the Competition Tribunal for greenwashing complaints.
In fact, Canada was awarded the satirical “fossil of the day” title at the UN Climate Conference in Brazil by climate activist group Climate Action Network International. Canada was singled out for the first time in more than a decade.
To be sure, it doesn’t take away the fact that China remains the largest emitter of greenhouse gas globally (29% in 2024).
So how did China manage to shift the perception?
Actions speak
Flat or slight decline in CO2 emissions
Lauri Myllyvirta, lead analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air and senior fellow at Asia Society Policy Institute, wrote in a recent analysis for Carbon Brief that China’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions were unchanged in Q3 2025 from a year earlier, “extending a flat or falling trend that started in March 2024.” The report added:
While an emission increase or decrease of 1% or less might not make a huge difference in an objective sense, it has heightened symbolic meaning.
Besides, while China is the largest GHG emitter, Canada and the U.S. do worse when looking at per capita data.
Leading global effort in clean energy buildout
“In the first nine months of the year, China completed 240 gigawatts (GW) of solar and 61GW of wind capacity, putting it on track for a new renewable record in 2025,” Myllyvirta said.
Already in July, Global Energy Monitor reported that China was “leading the global effort in renewable energy buildout” with nearly 1.3 terawatt (TW) pipeline of utility-scale solar and wind capacity, with 510 GW already under construction.
China has established itself as the global leader in offshore wind through rapid and large-scale development.
China accounts for 29% of all planned wind and solar projects and nearly three quarters of projects under construction.
China’s brand is improving
Beyond the fact that China is increasingly recognized as a leader in clean energy, it’s China’s nation branding altogether that is making strides.
In the summer of 2024, I recall preparing a reputation brief about the perception of China in Canada. The likability of China in Canada was at a historical low.
Fast forward to the spring of 2025: A Pew Research Center survey found that across 24 countries, while more people have a positive view of the U.S. than China, the gap is closing as views about the two countries are evolving in opposite direction.
In Canada, the share of people viewing the U.S. favorably was 34%. The same as the share of people with a favorable view of China.
Between July and September, The Economist conducted a survey of 32 countries with GlobeScan to test global views of China and called the findings “startling”. The perception of China has indeed improved from a year earlier:
Preference for China as the world’s leading power has risen in every place sampled by GlobeScan. Perhaps most surprisingly, that includes America.
The share of respondents favoring China rose 11 percentage points to an average of 33%. In the U.S., while the share remains at a low 6%, it’s double what it was the year before.
Two in five Americans think that China’s influence in the world is “mainly positive”, up from a quarter during Trump’s first term, which is especially true for the younger generation.
Even in Canada, along with Brazil, Mexico, South Africa and Spain, preferences for China increased 20 percentage points.
The rise in China’s preference must be considered in light of America’s “discontents”, including Canada, which has been threatened of invasion by its long-time friendly neighbour.
Three lessons for communicators in the government
- There is such a thing as nation branding
- If you retreat on standards, you create narrative narrative vacuum
- Global perception moves on relative, not absolute, performance
- Narratives shift when actions are visible and sustained.
Contact Y Perspective for your message positioning and thought leadership program.
Citation
N’Diaye, Yali (2025). “How China’s green branding is gaining traction amid narrative wars.” Y Perspective.”
