Speaking at the Sixth EU-China High-Level Environment and Climate Dialogue (HECD), on Monday 14 July, the European Commission’s Executive Vice-President for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition, Teresa Ribera, said that China and the European Union must show “the strongest possible” commitment to the Paris Agreement and its objectives, ahead of COP30 in Belém (Brazil) in November.
“Over the coming months, we must send out strong signals to the other players to show them that the multilateral system is alive and well, and that action must continue”, she stated.
She also said that “China’s new nationally determined contribution (NDC) (...) will be crucial for the rest of the world”.
China has yet to unveil its climate targets for 2035, although it has set itself a goal of carbon neutrality by 2060.
The EU plans to adopt its NDC ahead of COP30, on 18 September, at an extraordinary ‘Environment’ Council. The target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2035 will be calculated on the basis of the Union’s 2040 target, once Member States have agreed on it (see EUROPE 13679/3).
The Vice-President also spoke about the international negotiations on the ‘Plastics Treaty’ (see EUROPE 13679/4), the aim being to reach an agreement in Geneva in August following the failure of the negotiations in Busan in late 2024.
“Although we are convinced that an agreement is still possible, we know that it will require efforts to find common landing points next month. (...) We need joint leadership from China and the European Union”, she stressed.
Commissioners Wopke Hoekstra, Dan Jørgensen and Jessika Roswall were also in Beijing, just a few days before the EU-China Summit, on 24 July (see EUROPE 13678/38). More generally, the aim of the discussions there was to discuss ongoing bilateral cooperation on climate policies and the progress made on related national policies, in particular the reduction of emissions in the energy sector.
As Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra previously explained in an interview with the Financial Times, the EU is waiting for China to make more concrete climate commitments, potentially before signing a joint declaration on the subject at their bilateral summit. (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)