SCIO briefing on China’s Policies and Actions for Addressing Climate Change (2016)

CCTV:

What was the role of China in signing the Paris Agreement last year as well as bringing it into effect now? Thank you.

Xie Zhenhua:

As United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, China has made historical, fundamental, important and key contributions to the Paris Agreement and the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Paris. In 2014, leaders from China and the United States issued the Sino-U.S. Joint Statement on Climate Change, in which the biggest developing country and the biggest developed country, the top two emitters of greenhouse gases in the world, announced their respective targets on Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC). The move set an example globally and the "bottom-up" INDC system took shape. Following China and the United States, more than 160 countries have announced their INDC target, which, in fact, has set the tone for the most controversial issues of emission, like who is responsible for emission reduction and how to reduce emission. That's the historical contribution China has made, just as Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon had said. On the eve of the Paris Conference, there were still significant differences regarding the Paris Agreement, especially in how to reflect the distinction between developed countries and developing countries in mitigating climate change, adapting to climate change, funds, technologies and capability building.

During the process, Chinese government and leaders launched extensive contact with some leaders of developed countries and developing countries and before the U.N. Climate Change Conference held in Paris came up with a joint statement with the United States, France, the European Union, India and Brazil to reach a consensus on the major differences in the Paris Agreement and find a solution to address the issues. During the conference, delegations of countries reached the Paris Agreement based on the principles of openness, transparency and extensive participation.

The Paris Agreement requires signing and domestic ratification. The agreement was scheduled to be open for signature in the United Nations on April 22, 2016, which means that you have to make the first move if you agree. During the process, President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Obama made a third joint statement, announcing that China and the United States will sign the agreement at the United Nations on April 22. We did what we announced. Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli, as a special envoy of President Xi, signed the agreement for China. Over 100 countries have signed the agreement, following the example of major countries.

The agreement shall not take effect until at least 55 countries accounting for more than 55 percent of global emissions have signed and ratified it. We invited the United States to attend the G20 summit of this year. On Sept. 23, the leaders of China and the United States handed over their countries' legal instruments of joining the agreement to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. More countries ratified the agreement at the ratifying ceremony held in the United Nations, and so far the above-mentioned threshold has been exceeded. The agreement will take effect one month after the threshold was exceeded as the agreement stipulates. The threshold of the agreement was exceeded on Oct. 5, and the agreement shall come into effect on Nov. 4. The Chinese government and its leaders have made many efforts in and important contributions to reaching, signing, ratifying and bringing into effect the agreement.