Overview of Abate and Switch: How China’s Emissions Fell
This episode of The Intelligence examines three stories: a possible turning point in China’s carbon emissions, El Salvador’s troop deployment to Haiti, and research into what contagious yawning reveals about wolf social behavior.
Why China’s Emissions May Be Falling
China’s industrial carbon emissions fell 3.1% year over year in the third quarter of 2026, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. The drop is unusually large outside the COVID lockdown period, though some causes may be temporary, including mild weather and a slowdown in construction, which has reduced demand for carbon intensive steel and cement.
Other changes could last longer. Electric vehicles now account for more than half of car sales, and renewable and nuclear power are growing faster than electricity demand. Higher oil and gas prices have also encouraged people to switch to electric vehicles, a change that can keep reducing oil use even if prices later fall. Better electricity grids are helping more renewable power reach customers.
Oliver Morton cautions that these shifts are driven mainly by economic and industrial interests, rather than climate policy. China benefits from replacing imported fuels and from building and exporting clean energy technology. At COP31, climate policy could help build on the trend by encouraging further electrification. Preliminary global figures also point to a slight emissions decline in 2026, though climate risks remain severe.
Bukele’s Troop Deployment in Haiti
El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, sent about 2,000 soldiers to Haiti after four Salvadoran aviation technicians serving with a UN backed force disappeared. Bukele has described the mission as a rescue effort and has also said he wants to defeat Haiti’s gangs. The deployment could raise his international profile ahead of El Salvador’s election, while building on his domestic popularity after a sweeping crackdown sharply reduced killings. That crackdown has also involved mass arrests and serious human rights concerns.
Haiti is facing a deep crisis: gangs control large parts of the capital, while violence, displacement and hunger have worsened since President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated in 2021. Haiti’s interim government has authorized the Salvadoran deployment, but its relationship with the existing multinational UN backed force is unclear. With Haitian police and soldiers, UN backed forces and private contractors also present, there are concerns about coordination, escalation and responsibility for potential abuses.
Burke says Haiti’s circumstances differ greatly from El Salvador’s, making Bukele’s approach difficult to transfer. The deployment could improve his standing, but many observers doubt it will end gang violence and warn that it could draw El Salvador into a prolonged conflict.
What Wolf Yawning Reveals About Social Bonds
Researchers compared contagious yawning in 20 purebred captive wolves and 13 wolf–dog hybrids. Purebred wolves copied a witnessed yawn within two minutes 41% of the time, compared with 24% among hybrids. The result suggests that dog ancestry may affect aspects of wolves’ social behavior.
The study found that wolves who were sociable and interacted widely with their pack were more likely to trigger yawning. Dominance and close family bonds did not have the same effect, unlike patterns reported in chimpanzees and bonobos. Because wolves rely on coordinated pack life, the researchers say changes to their social dynamics could have broader consequences. Yawning offers one clue, though it does not establish how extensive those effects may be.
Main Takeaways
- China’s emissions decline reflects both short term factors and potentially durable changes, especially electrification and the expansion of clean power.
- China’s clean energy push is closely tied to economic and industrial strategy; climate policy can reinforce it.
- Bukele’s Haiti deployment carries substantial uncertainty, with questions about its aims, coordination and risks.
- Wolf–dog hybrids showed less contagious yawning than purebred wolves, raising questions about how dog ancestry may affect wolf social behavior.