Invited to Beijing as part of the 4th high-level dialogue on the environment and climate between the European Union and China on Monday 3 and Tuesday 4 July, the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans, met, among others, the Chinese Vice-Premier, Din Xuexiang, and China’s Special Envoy for climate change, Xie Zhenhua, to strengthen bilateral cooperation between the EU and China and encourage national and international action on the environment and climate change.
Speaking before Xie Zhenhua, the Commission’s Executive Vice-President reiterated the urgency of climate change, stressing that “emissions will have to be cut by almost half by 2030 if we want to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius”. He referred to Chinese culture, “which for thousands of years has adopted an attitude of respect towards ancestors (and) could make a real contribution to teaching us not just to look to our ancestors, but to see ourselves as the ancestors of the future”.
He also pointed out that the G20 countries, which are major emitters, are responsible for 80% of global emissions, and that China emits between a quarter and a third of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions.
“Europe and China must act. We both benefit from fair, multilateral global rules. We need to set an example, and we are in a position to make a difference”, he continued, highlighting the reduction of emissions in the EU via the Emissions Trading System (ETS), a similar system being developed by China with the support of the EU.
“We believe that, in addition to accelerating the transition to renewable energies in the electricity sector, China could help us in the effort to align financial flows with the objectives of the Paris Agreement, both at global and national level”, he concluded. (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)