Following the European Union, the UK** recently announced that it will implement the UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) from 2027. This also confirms that the environmental field is becoming a new battlefield for rights and interests.
The CBAM mechanism was also one of the points of contention at the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28). At COP28, the "UAE Consensus" warned that "measures to combat climate change, including unilateral changes, should not constitute arbitrary or unreasonable discrimination or disguised restrictions on international **".
Zhang Juntao, deputy secretary-general of the China Energy Conservation Association and executive deputy secretary-general of the Carbon Neutrality Professional Committee, who had just returned from Dubai, told reporters that the COP28 venue was full of gunpowder about the CBAM controversy. During the meeting, the EU CBAM was criticized by delegates from Brazil, Africa, China, India and other countries and regions. According to many participants, the CBAM is fundamentally a unilateral protection measure that does not serve its stated decarbonisation goals or the international level. Representatives of many African countries believe that African economies will be directly affected by the CBAM. ”
Zhang Juntao, deputy secretary-general of the China Energy Conservation Association and executive deputy secretary-general of the Carbon Neutrality Professional Committee, at COP28 Photo courtesy of the interviewee.
Why is it so difficult to negotiate on climate change?
Zhang Juntao said that not only CBAM, but also other issues at the scene were full of gunsmoke. Why is it so difficult to negotiate on climate change?
Zhang Juntao believes that there are deep reasons for the difficulty of climate negotiations. From an international moral point of view, responding to climate change is to avoid global climate disasters and save the homeland of mankind, and for different countries, it is the issue of "carbon emission rights" and "development rights".
For developed countries, they have entered the post-industrial period, they have experienced the industrial revolution, and the period of rapid economic development has enjoyed the global carbon emission dividend. At present, they are beginning to deny the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities", and at the same time, they are also shifting "differentiated responsibilities" to development and other developed countries, and believe that the key to solving the problem is to increase carbon emissions in the future, Zhang Juntao cites the CBAM mechanism implemented by the European Union and the United Kingdom.
Zhang Juntao added that unlike developed countries, emerging countries are facing the problem of "right to development" under rapid economic growth. In recent years, the economic growth of some emerging market countries has continued to be strong, and the development of digital economy, high-end manufacturing, finance, new energy, artificial intelligence and other fields has advanced by leaps and bounds. At present, most emerging countries still rely on high-emission and high-pollution development, and urgently need to obtain their own corresponding rights and interests on the issue of carbon emission rights.
Poor countries are now lacking funds to cope with climate change, and need support from developed countries and other economies, and small island states are facing survival problems, so different countries are facing different problems in dealing with climate change, and it is difficult to negotiate with inconsistent goals.
The scene is far more stalemate than the report, and what you see is the result of a compromise between the parties."
Xie Zhenhua, China's special envoy for climate change, said on the sidelines of COP28 that the conference was the "most difficult" in recent years. In response to this remark, the reporter asked Zhang Juntao for confirmation, and Zhang Juntao said frankly that "the scene is far more stale than the report, and the 'UAE consensus' you see is the result of a compromise between all parties."
Zhang Juntao gave the example of the problem of fossil energy storage and waste, which is only one of the more than 200 topics on COP28.
The disagreement over the storage and waste of fossil fuels in the run-up to COP28 has brought the spotlight on whether the conference can reach a global agreement on the complete phase-out of fossil fuels. On December 11, local time, the meeting released the latest third version of the draft agreement, the expression of fossil fuels caused the most controversy, "phasing out fossil fuels" did not mention a word, Saudi Arabia, Russia opposed the "proposal on the phase-out of fossil fuels", Kuwait, Iraq and coal power India and other countries have also joined its camp, so it is difficult to reach a consistent goal. Xie Zhenhua, China's special envoy for climate change, said a compromise could lie in the deal he reached with U.S. climate envoy John Kerry in California in November, focusing on promoting the development of renewable energy to accelerate the replacement of coal, oil and gas power generation and contribute to the solution to fossil fuels.
On December 13, local time, COP28 reached a consensus on the first global inventory of the Paris Agreement. The final decision of the Conference was unanimously agreed by 198 Parties. For the first time in the history of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, countries included reference to fossil fuels in the text of the final agreement, agreeing on a roadmap for a "transition" away from fossil fuels. However, this "compromise" agreement has also been met with some criticism. It has been argued that while the agreement mentions a transition to fossil fuels, a concrete action plan and timetable are still lacking. In addition, some developing countries are concerned that over-reliance on renewable energy could have a negative impact on their economic development.
It is undeniable that the issue of fossil fuels is an extremely complex issue, involving national interests, economic development, energy security and other aspects. Therefore, this "compromise" agreement can be seen as the result of a compromise between countries balancing different interests.
Beijing News Shell Financial Reporter Tao Ye.
Edited by Song Yuting.
Proofread by Wang Xin.