Low-carbon future offers a golden opportunity for the EU and Beijing to pull together

Andrew Hammond says the EU and China have much to gain from closer collaboration in tackling climate change – in sharing technology and experience, and in shaping the landscape of the clean energy economy

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It is clear that the EU and China have much to gain from a deeper partnership on the climate change agenda. Illustration: Craig Stephens

Published: 4:54pm, 11 Jul 2016Updated: 7:03pm, 11 Jul 2016

Beijing hosts on Tuesday and Wednesday a China-EU summit hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (李克強), European Council president Donald Tusk and European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker. The important meeting, held in the framework of the jointly agreed 2020 strategic agenda for cooperation, will focus on bilateral political and economic relations, in addition to global and regional issues, with climate change at the fore of this.

Among the other key items on the table are discussions on the completion of a comprehensive agreement on investment, China’s market economy status, mobility and migration, foreign policy cooperation, and an ongoing human rights dialogue between Brussels and Beijing. There will also be preparatory talks for the G20 summit, to be held in early September in China.

Green business to reap China’s environmental policy rewards

It is global warming, however, where the most fruitful bilateral dialogue could be held, and leaders will be assessing the implementation of the 2015 EU-China climate change declaration. Under this, agreed shortly before last December’s Paris summit, both parties agreed to cooperate on developing a cost-effective low-carbon economy.

Emissions billow from chimneys at a chemical factory in Hefei, Anhui province. China and the EU can work together to reduce greenhouse gases. Photo: Reuters

How China has gone from climate villain to hero in just six years

Collectively, the EU and China account for around one third of global greenhouse emissions. The reason why EU-China discussions on climate change are so cooperative is that, fundamentally, both share a vision of a prosperous, energysecure future in a stable climate and recognise the need for bilateral collaboration on this agenda. Their 2015 agreement, for instance, agreed to intensify cooperation in domestic mitigation policies, carbon markets, low-carbon cities, greenhouse gas emissions from the aviation and maritime industries, and hydrofluorocarbons.

The window of opportunity to collaborate may not remain open indefinitely

Both sets of leaders recognise there is a massive “win-win” opportunity from accelerating the transition to a low-carbon future, and bolstering economic growth in both China and Europe at a time of uncertainty about the global economy. And this collaboration looks set to only deepen, including on emissions trading, with Beijing’s plans to establish a nationwide emissions trading system by 2020.