Last week, the world marked the 51st Earth Day. This year’s theme – “Restore Our Earth” – was apt. As the COVID-19 pandemic has reminded us, the effects of human activity on the planet do not respect borders. The Earth is a single living, self-regulating system, and it demands a single, shared system of accounting that balances at the global level. We need a one-Earth balance sheet.

A Cornell University program centered on community-building and education is a case-study in U.S.-China cooperation.

The U.S. and China, the two largest carbon emitters in the world, have both pledged to cut their greenhouse gasses with ambitious near-future targets, but neither side is ready to work together on the details.

Xi was the first national leader to speak after Biden, emphasizing the need to advance global environmental governance.

U.S. President Joe Biden is making a run at renewing America’s global leadership on climate governance. The World Earth Day summit provided an inflection point that attracted attention from around the world.

Biden has invited dozens of world leaders to join the two-day virtual summit starting on Thursday.

Four years ago, Donald Trump rashly withdrew the United States from the Paris Agreement. Under President Joe Biden it has returned, but it needs to do more. Kerry’s visit with his Chinese counterpart was a good start.

Early in the pandemic, an unexpected outbreak among mink brought catastrophe to Denmark’s vaunted mink fur industry, leading to the extermination of its entire mink population and total collapse of its output. The U.S. and China are among the top contenders looking to capitalize on the sudden vacuum in the market.

China should be praised, not criticized, for reaching out to poor countries in Africa with lifesaving vaccines. The United States, with all its vast resources and the best vaccines in the world, should follow suit for humanitarian reasons.