This year marks both the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the EU. Given that China is the largest developing country and the EU is the largest group of developed countries, cooperation between the two on climate change governance is of even greater significance at these two important junctures.
On the one hand, global warming is accelerating and extreme weather events is intensifying, posing a serious threat to human survival. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has confirmed that 2024 was the hottest year on record, with a global average temperature approximately 1.55ºC above the pre-industrial levels. This breaks the 1.5ºC temperature control target set by the Paris Agreement for the first time. On the other hand, the United States, the world’s largest economy, has once again announced its intention to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, thereby undermining global confidence in the fight against climate change.
In the face of these challenges, how can China and Europe work together to promote global climate governance? Lord Nicholas Stern, Director of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), whose work is highly regarded in the field of climate economics, shared his insights in an exclusive interview with CNS’s “W.E. Talk”.
Here are the excerpts of the interview:
CNS: This year, the United States has once again withdrawn from the Paris Agreement. What impact will this have on the landscape of global climate change governance?
Lord Stern: The withdrawal of the United States from the Paris Agreement during the first Trump administration put the international community to the test in terms of climate change cooperation. However, the process of global climate governance has not been impeded: other countries carried on cooperating and taking domestic action to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, as did many companies, cities and communities in the United States.
There are no signs that any other countries will follow the United States by withdrawing from the Paris Agreement. Indeed, other countries have continued to participate in the United Nations climate negotiations, for example, the 62nd sessions of the UNFCCC Subsidiary Bodies (SB 62) in Bonn, Germany.
However, the new U.S. administration's withdrawal and its rollback of support for the transition away from fossil fuels, it has created a vacuum in international leadership compared with the Biden era. This creates opportunities for others to step up and provide direction.
CNS: Following the United States’ withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, cooperation between Europe and China has attracted significant attention. What is your opinion on the roles of China and Europe in global climate change governance?
Lord Stern: China and Europe should appeal to the international community that climate change is a common challenge for all humankind. China and Europe should also better explain to other countries the benefits of a green transition, including the economic opportunities and returns on investment in a transition to a net-zero emission and climate-resilient economy.
China and the Europe should also work together to provide international leadership on climate change, making the case for accelerating action, and emphasizing the importance of multilateral processes. This should include creating an environment at home and abroad that encourages investment into the transition to zero-emissions and climate-resilient economies. In practice, that should include using their influence as shareholders in multilateral development banks and pushing the G7, G20 and other international fora to make the transition a priority.
CNS: What are the common ground or shared interests for cooperation between China and Europe in promoting global climate change governance? In which areas do you see potential for cooperation and development？
Lord Stern: Both China and Europe are committed to an evidence-based approach to tackling climate change, recognising the scale and urgency of the risks posed by the impacts, and the significant opportunities created by opportunities to invest in cleaner, smarter and more efficient societies and economies. China, in particular, has anticipated the huge increase in global demand for new clean technologies, such as solar panels and electric vehicles. Europe can also take advantage of these new opportunities, especially if companies in the United States step back from international markets in response to the Trump administration’s approach to this issue. China and Europe can join together in expanding the financing capacity of the multilateral development banks so that the great investment opportunities of the green transition can be realised in the developing coutries.
CNS: In recent years, China has also achieved rapid growth in green energy capacity. There are some concerns about the overcapacity of green energy in China. What's your take on this?
Lord Stern: China is already demonstrating international leadership on climate change, but can do even more, particularly in partnership with Europe. One important way in which China can demonstrate leadership is by seeking ways to direct its current production of solar panels to both meet domestic demand and rapidly provide countries in Africa and other developing countries with significant increases in renewable energy. This represents a huge investment opportunity for Africa to expand access to clean power very quickly, to the great advantage for its development and for the world as a whole. (End)
Expert Profile:
Lord Nicholas Stern is Director of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). He was Chief Economist of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and Chief Economist and Senior Vice-President at the World Bank. He has also held professorships and conducted research at several prestigious universities in the UK, France, the USA and China.
By/Liu Liang & Li Jiayin from CNS
