Calls for US, China to work together and ‘set example’ on climate change
- Experts at virtual talks say cooperation on climate, energy and green finance will benefit everyone
- The countries are the two biggest emitters of carbon dioxide in the world
Speaking at virtual round-table talks on China-US cooperation last week, Liu Yuanchun, vice-president of Renmin University in Beijing, asked: “The relationship between China and the US is at a critical juncture. Will it be possible to start a new development path in the post-Trump era for the Biden administration?”
The discussion involved more than 50 experts from the two countries, according to a social media post by Renmin University, which co-hosted the talks with Columbia University.
The direction of the bilateral relationship depended on whether the two sides were willing to have in-depth dialogue and work out feasible strategies to cooperate, Liu said.
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“At present, we have an important consensus that China and the US share common interests in the fields of climate change, carbon neutrality and energy, and cooperation is beneficial for the green recovery and sustainable development of the two countries and the world,” Liu said during the talks, according to the Renmin University post.
China and the US are the world’s two largest emitters of carbon dioxide. China is responsible for around 28 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions and the US accounts for 15 per cent. According to the International Energy Agency, China’s emissions were up by 0.8 per cent, or 75 million tonnes, last year from 2019 levels.
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“As the world’s two largest economies and CO2 emitters, China and the US have the responsibility to set an example for the international community and make greater contributions to combat climate change,” Fu Chengyu, former chairman of Chinese oil giants CNOOC and Sinopec, said during the discussion.
Fu said the two countries could cooperate on wind, solar and hydrogen power.
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David Sandalow, inaugural fellow at the Centre on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University, was quoted as saying that China and the US were leading players in green finance and it would be a good area for them to work together.
In the US, Biden plans to issue an executive order that would require financial institutions and companies to disclose their climate change risks, Kerry said last week.
“It’s going to change allocation of capital. Suddenly people are going to be making evaluations considering long-term risk to the investment based on the climate crisis,” he said while speaking on a panel with International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva.
The round-table talks were part of activities for the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) to be held in Kunming in October.
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Countries taking part in COP15 are expected to reach an agreement on targets to protect biodiversity and ecosystems that are vital to human health, including proposals to protect at least 30 per cent of the globe’s land and oceans by 2030.
Yang Fuqiang, a senior adviser in Beijing to US environmental group the Natural Resources Defence Council, said addressing climate change was a key part of “promoting a community with a shared future for mankind” – a promise made by Xi in 2013.
“China is one of the most vulnerable countries for climate change and it will be seriously affected,” he said. “So tackling climate change is not a request from other countries but our decision to do so.”
