Megan Thompson:

In October, the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued a dire warning. The catastrophic effects of climate change have begun and the international community must take drastic steps immediately to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But President Trump withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris Climate Accord in 2017 has left many asking who will now lead this work? It may end up being China, says Barbara Finamore in her new book, 'Will China Save the Planet?' She's an attorney and the founder of the Natural Resources Defense Council's China program and she recently joined me from Boston.

So in the book you write about how over the last few decades China has had this big about-face when it comes to climate change policy — it went from being a nation that really resisted the international climate talks to being much more of a leading participant in Paris. What led to this turnaround?