China and the European Union redoubled their commitment to a strong climate pact on Monday in a Brussels summit, as the Asian giant readied its widely-anticipated pledge for submission. Heads of the world’s number one and three emitters of greenhouse gas emissions signed a joint agreement on climate change and heralded a “new starting point” after 40 years of relations.
It sees a deepening of Sino-European ties as new chiefs seek to overcome former diplomatic hostilities, with Chinese investment earmarked for a European infrastructure fund and greater collaboration on issues from migration to the Greece crisis.
“This year is critical in terms of global climate change governance,” said Chinese premier Li Keqiang, who travelled to the Belgian capital for the first time. “We are willing to work together with the EU side to jointly tackle the challenge posed by climate change that observes principles of common but differentiated responsibility, equity and respective capabilities to implement climate change solutions,” he told reporters in a press conference.
China would submit its “intended nationally determined contribution” before the end of June confirming months of speculation, Keqiang said. Accounting for over a quarter of emissions, it is a significant player in crafting a global warming agreement.
The European Green Deal has made the environment and climate change the focus of EU action. Indeed, climate change impacts are already increasing the pressure on states and societies; however, it is not yet clear how the EU can engage on climate security and environmental peacemaking. In this light, and in the run-up to the German EU Council Presidency, adelphi and its partners are organising a roundtable series on “Climate, environment, peace: Priorities for EU external action in the decade ahead”.
In January 2020, the German Federal Foreign Office launched Green Central Asia, a regional initiative on climate and security in Central Asia and Afghanistan. The aim of the initiative is to support a dialogue in the region on climate change and associated risks in order to foster regional integration between the six countries involved.
Climate change will shift key coordinates of foreign policy in the coming years and decades. Even now, climate policy is more than just environment policy; it has long since arrived at the centre of foreign policy. The German Foreign Office recently released a report on climate diplomacy recognizing the biggest challenges to security posed by climate change and highlighting fields of action for strengthening international climate diplomacy.
A high-level ministerial conference in Berlin is looking at the impact of climate change on regional security in Central Asia. The aim is to foster stronger regional cooperation, improve the exchange of information and form connections with academia and civil society.