Among the major powers involved in the discussions at the climate summit in the Polish city of Katowice, China has been a country that has been remarkably low.
There is no clear explanation for this low chinese profile. But Östasienschefen for Greenpeace, Li Shuo, who is chinese and has a good insight into the förhandlingsspelet, believe that the cause in each case is not that China has lowered their ambition to reduce their fossil imprint in the atmosphere.
– China is the country that emits the most greenhouse gases in the world and play a crucial role at the climate summit, ” says Li Shuo to DN.
a leadership role was expected to general, he stresses, on two important points: one is the ambition, which was set up in the paris agreement – China are in fact in a good position to surpass its existing objectives. So the question is whether China can stand for this leadership and dragging down other countries. In the so-called rulebook, there are several things that are particularly important for China. It was in Paris three years ago that Barack Obama and Xi Jinping together sketched the introduction to the textbook.
Much will depend now on whether the two countries will manage to complete the book in the spirit that characterized Parisöverenskommelsen three years ago. He notes that China so far has kept a low profile in the negotiations, but that at the end of the negotiations have a better concept on where they stand.
A recurring bone of contention is that China wants to cling to the old divisions that existed before Paris, between the developing countries and in countries, in which China itself would be counted among the developing countries.
about China and climate at the university of Helsinki, says that China is actually a developing country, but at the same time also a strong industrial tillväxtland. Not least on renewable energy, which now is the largest in the world.
“China wants to belong to the group of developing countries may seem surprising, but there are economic benefits with it, including in the form of finansstöd,” says Karoliina Hurri.
Camilla Born, at think tank E3G in London, which has the goal to accelerate the development to a fossil-free future, however, believe that China realizes that they need to move to a more universal order; since it is required to manage climatic risks.
China has also begun to invest so much in the renewable type of energy, and they see that it is in their national interest, it is cleaner, more modern and provides more opportunities.
carbon dioxide emissions have increased slightly in the past year, after having fallen in some years.
– It is not a positive thing, but all in all, they are on track to significantly exceed its emission targets under the paris agreement. It looks different in different parts of China, in some cities it is very low carbon. China is on track to phase out coal, because they know that they can not live in dirty cities.
The geopolitical vindkantringen in the world, where Donald Trump has turned its back on international cooperation and have declared the U.S. intention to withdraw from the climate treaty from Paris, of course impacts the mood of the COP24-meeting.
a sense of a basic injustice of the chinese side and some developing countries. Negotiation rules that will cover all countries that are parties to the paris agreement – but in the future, not the united states. And yet the united states and is negotiating whether it should apply, and have great influence over it, ” says Li Shuo from Greenpeace.
There is not much China can do about it. But despite the frustration requires great self-discipline, says Li Shuo, it is in the chinese interest to Katowice to be considered a success.
China has many tensions and problems with the West. But the climate has been one of the more promising areas for cooperation, where China has demonstrated some form of ”soft power”.
– So if there is one area where China should go forward and not back, so is the climate policy, says Li Shuo.
despite the fact that China emits most greenhouse gases of all countries, implementing more ambitious climate action than what people generally think.
” But they do not want to lead alone, but are waiting for a strong partner as the EUROPEAN union. China fully agree on the 1.5-gradersmålet, but believes that environmental policies must also have an economic benefit. They do not want to put their economic growth at stake.
the EU’s and China’s great importance emerged when the UN chief Antonío Guterres arrived in Katowice on Wednesday to try to get these two to compromise on the wording of a final text for the climate summit.
Camillo Born think saudi Arabia is clearly encouraged by the united states klimatskepsis when the man objected, the meeting in Katowice would “welcome” the scare from the united nations.
– How China will act during the meeting is very important for the final agreement, ” says Camilla Born.
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