Cooperation and Game of Global Climate Governance: Addressing the New Challenges of Extreme Climate
In 2023, the frequency of extreme weather events around the world has become an indisputable fact, and the human-caused climate change behind this has attracted widespread attention. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has confirmed that 2023 is the hottest year on record, with global average temperatures already 1. above pre-industrial levels45±0.12℃。This figure is not only shocking, but also a serious test of global climate governance, as it means that we are approaching or even exceeding the 1. set by the Paris Agreement5 Temperature-controlled targets.
Against this backdrop, although some progress has been made in the global response to climate change, there are still many challenges. The Sunshine Country Statement on Strengthening Cooperation to Address the Climate Crisis (hereinafter referred to as the "Sunshine Country Statement") jointly issued by China and the United States has injected confidence in strengthening global climate governance and demonstrated the cooperation and responsibility among major countries. At the same time, the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) also promoted the conclusion of the "UAE Consensus", providing a new direction and impetus for global climate governance.
However, despite these positive signs, the road to global climate governance remains long and difficult. The frequent occurrence of extreme climate events is not only a threat to the living environment of mankind, but also a test of the global governance system and cooperation mechanism. Countries need to strengthen cooperation on climate change and jointly formulate and implement more effective policies and measures to mitigate the effects of climate change and protect our common planet.
In short, the cooperation and game of global climate governance is at a critical turning point. We need to be more proactive in addressing challenges, strengthen international cooperation, promote the process of global climate governance, and jointly address the new challenges brought about by extreme weather. Only in this way can we ensure the future of the planet and the sustainable development of humanity.
China and the United States have joined hands to lead global climate governance and inject new vitality into cooperation
With the frequent occurrence of extreme climate events around the world, climate change has become a serious challenge faced by all mankind. Against this backdrop, China and the United States, as the world's largest emitters of greenhouse gases, have worked together to address the climate crisis, injecting new vitality into global climate governance.
At a recent major international climate conference, China and the United States jointly issued the Sunshine Land Statement, announcing the establishment of the "Enhanced Climate Action Working Group in the 20s of the 21st Century", and clarifying specific cooperation plans and projects in the fields of energy transition, methane emission reduction, circular economy, and low-carbon cities. This statement not only demonstrates the firm determination of China and the United States on climate issues, but also provides a new framework for cooperation and action guidelines for global climate governance.
The release of the Sunshine Country Statement has two important significance. First, it sends a positive signal to the world that China and the United States are working together to address climate change, and demonstrates their determination to transcend political differences and work together to address global challenges. This cooperation will not only help stabilize China-US relations, but also inject confidence and hope into global climate governance.
Second, China-US climate cooperation has charted the course for global climate governance. The cooperation plans and projects proposed in the statement of the two countries aim to promote the transformation of the global energy mix, promote the development of renewable energy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and promote a circular economy and efficient use of resources. These measures will provide strong support and guidance for global climate governance, and help promote the process of global climate governance.
It is worth mentioning that many of the outcomes of the Sunshine Country Statement have been reflected and recognized in subsequent international climate negotiations, further demonstrating the importance and influence of China-US climate cooperation. However, despite the important progress made by China and the United States on climate issues, global climate governance still faces many challenges and difficulties.
In the future, countries need to further strengthen cooperation and jointly promote the process of global climate governance. It is only through global cooperation and efforts that we can effectively address the challenges posed by climate change and protect our common planet. The cooperation between China and the United States will inject new vitality and impetus into global climate governance and lead the world towards a greener and more sustainable future.
COP28 has achieved two major breakthroughs: the UAE consensus leads a new chapter in climate governance
After intense and productive negotiations, the high-profile 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) concluded successfully after one day of "extra time" on December 13, 2023. With the theme of "Solidarity, Action, Implementation", the conference finally reached the "UAE Consensus" on a number of topics such as the first stocktaking of the Paris Agreement, mitigation, adaptation, finance, loss and damage, and just transition. This consensus has not only injected new impetus into global climate governance, but also achieved two remarkable results.
First, significant progress has been made on climate finance. On the first day of COP28, the General Assembly approved a plan for the start-up and operation of loss and damage** and determined the amount of funding**. It was unanimously agreed that the ** would be held in custody by the World Bank first. The establishment of this ** is of great significance, as it pays attention to the climate responsibility gap between developing countries and developed countries, and provides substantial support for developing countries to cope with climate change. From the opening to the closing of the conference, in just a few days, the ** has raised hundreds of millions of dollars, which fully reflects the importance and commitment of the international community to the issue of climate finance.
Second, for the first time, a global consensus was reached on the phase-out of fossil fuels. After intense debate and consultation, the parties finally included the language on fossil fuels in the text of the agreement and agreed on a roadmap for the "transition away" from fossil fuels. This is a landmark achievement that marks a profound shift in the global community's understanding of fossil fuel use. In the future, the world will accelerate the pace of energy transition, promote the development of renewable energy, and gradually reduce and eventually phase out the use of fossil fuels, so as to effectively address the challenge of climate change.
The "transition away" from fossil fuels in the UAE Consensus not only confirms the fundamental path for the future global response to climate change and energy transition, but also proposes a series of concrete measures. These include accelerating the phase-out of coal-fired power, increasing renewable energy capacity, improving global energy efficiency per year, achieving net-zero energy systems, and developing zero- and low-carbon technologies. At the same time, the conference also stressed the importance of accelerating and significantly reducing global non-CO2 emissions, particularly methane emissions, by 2030, and eliminating inefficient fossil fuel subsidies as soon as possible.
Overall, the two major breakthroughs made at COP28 have injected new vitality and confidence into global climate governance. Together, we can build a greener, more sustainable future by strengthening international cooperation, implementing climate finance, and advancing the phase-out of fossil fuels. However, this is only the beginning, and there are still many challenges and difficulties ahead. We need to continue to strengthen cooperation, strengthen our convictions, and implement actions to jointly contribute to the future of our planet and the well-being of people.
Unilateralism and protectionism on the rise: Global climate governance is facing new challenges
Although some progress has been made in global climate governance, the increasingly political color in the field of climate change, unilateralism and protectionist tendencies continue to emerge, making the current climate action plans of countries around the world still insufficient to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement.
First, the combination of climate change response and protectionism is reshaping the global climate governance landscape. Carbon pricing is an effective means to deal with climate change, due to the lack of international cooperation, the difference in carbon pricing between countries may lead to the introduction of carbon tariffs, which in turn will trigger a new wave of protectionism. The European Union, for example, took the lead in launching the world's first carbon tariff scheme, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which will come into effect in October 2023. Since then, a number of Western countries have considered implementing similar carbon tariff mechanisms. U.S. Senators have proposed the Prove It Act of 2023 to establish a publicly available database of product emissions and impose a fee on goods imported from high-emitting countries. The UK** has also announced that it will implement its own CBAM from 2027. The implementation of these carbon tariff measures will have a profound impact on global climate governance. At the same time, the Group of Seven (G7) countries have formed the Climate Club, which aims to form a climate alliance through a carbon tax, further exacerbating the link to climate issues.
Secondly, the trend of securitization of the clean energy industry chain has intensified the competition in the green industry. On the one hand, major economies such as the United States and Europe have issued discriminatory protection policies aimed at protecting the competitiveness of the local clean energy industry. For example, the Inflation Reduction Act in the United States promotes the development of the country's new energy industry chain by providing subsidies; The European Union has introduced the Net Zero Industry Act to ensure that at least 40% of clean technology needs are manufactured in Europe by 2030. On the other hand, access to critical minerals is essential to achieving climate goals, and this sector has become a new focus of international competition. Since 2020, developed countries in the West have raised the key mineral raw materials to a strategic level, and actively built an international alliance, localization, and flexibility of the key raw materials chain. For example, many countries such as the European Union, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Canada have introduced or updated key raw material strategies; The G7 summit also issued a joint statement, proposing to establish a resilient chain, strengthen responsible, sustainable and transparent investment in the mining, processing and other chains of critical minerals, and plan to establish a "critical minerals club" to exclude China's impact on critical minerals. These actions could hinder the global efforts to build a more inclusive and sustainable chain of critical minerals, thereby affecting the achievement of climate change and energy transition goals.
To sum up, the rise of unilateralism and protectionism has brought new challenges to global climate governance. In order to address these challenges, the international community needs to strengthen cooperation and communication to jointly promote the process of global climate governance to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement and build a greener and more sustainable future.
The urgency of global climate governance: Existing actions are still insufficient to address the climate crisis
Although countries around the world have made some progress in climate governance, existing actions are still insufficient to deal with the growing climate crisis. Although COP28 completed the first global stocktaking of the Paris Agreement, the results were worrying.
In the area of climate change mitigation, the stocktaking outcome document highlights the persistent emissions gap. By 2030, the world still faces an implementation gap of 20.3 billion to 23.9 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, which means countries need to scale up emissions reductions to close this gap. However, current national climate action plans are not sufficient to achieve this goal.
In terms of adaptation to climate change, the paper notes that while global confidence in adaptation to climate change has increased, most efforts remain fragmented, incremental, sector-specific, and unevenly distributed across regions. This means that countries need to work together to develop more comprehensive and systematic adaptation strategies to address the challenges posed by climate change.
In terms of climate finance, the paper notes that current climate finance flows and means of implementation are not commensurate with the investments, needs and priorities needed to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. Developing countries are expected to face a financing gap of up to 5$900 million. In addition, the global annual adaptation finance gap is between US$194 billion and US$366 billion. This shows that the international community needs to increase the investment of climate finance to meet the needs of developing countries in addressing climate change.
The global stocktake sets the course for the future of climate governance, but the world still has too much to do to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. The tendency of unilateralism and protectionism is constantly emerging, and the securitization of the clean energy industry chain is intensifying the competition of green industries, which has brought new challenges to global climate governance. Therefore, countries need to strengthen cooperation and communication to jointly address the climate crisis and build a greener and more sustainable future.
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