Climate change accord ‘a huge step forward’
Print Edition
FOR China, the global climate accord reached in Paris marks a huge step toward greener growth that safeguards its sovereignty while falling short on funding for cleaner energy.
Xie Zhenhua, Beijing’s senior climate change envoy, said he welcomed what he described as a flawed agreement, echoing a similar summation from United States President Barack Obama.
“This accord isn’t perfect,” Xie told reporters late on Saturday.
“There are parts of it that need to be improved, but this doesn’t affect the fact that history has taken a huge step forward, and so we are satisfied.
“It should provide impetus for China’s green, low-carbon development and as we implement it, it will promote our own sustainable development,” he said.
Throughout the negotiations, China repeated the mantra of “differentiation, transparency and ambition” as key elements of any deal, and sought to ensure its sovereignty remained intact.
China sought to maintain as much policy flexibility at home as it could, particularly on the issue of five-year reviews, arguing that any changes to its 2020-30 climate goals should be voluntary.
Beijing helped secure an exception to the five-year review with a multi-track system that said “developing countries shall be provided flexibility” and could make the reviews optional, though officials said they were still assessing the details.
Foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei called the Paris deal a “new starting point for international cooperation.”
On financing, China was less pleased as the deal did little to meet and extend a previous pledge for the industrialized world to provide at least US$100 billion a year to poorer nations by 2020.
“On funding, we aren’t that satisfied, especially when it comes to pre-2020 funding, which is relatively weak,” said Zou Ji, deputy director of China’s National Center for Climate Change Strategy.
“On post-2020 funding, they have written in the principle that developed countries have to provide support to developing countries, but there are a lot of specifics that were impossible to put in the agreement.”
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