UNEP Deputy Chief "Hopeful" about the Paris Conference

In his recent visit to Beijing from November 12-14, Ibrahim Thiaw, UNEP Deputy Executive Director and Assistant-Secretary-General of the United Nations, expressed optimism with regard to the forthcoming UN Climate Change Conference in Paris (COP21). Thus far, more than 160 countries have submitted their intended nationally determined contributions (INDC) and the number keeps growing. "It is unprecedented," Thiaw told China Today in an exclusive interview. "

There have never been so many commitments on a voluntary basis as there are now."

However, the UNEP deputy chief said, setting the target of limiting warming to no more than two degrees Celsiusit is not sufficient; as of now, the temperature is likely to rise by three degrees Celsius by the end of the century. Thiaw called for more concrete efforts –between now and the Paris Conference, during the conference, and after the conference – to meet the two-degree target before 2030. "We are hopeful that all members will agree in Paris to reduce their emissions further," Mr. Thiaw said, "and that they will also agree to regular reviews, for example, every five or ten years, in efforts to reduce emissions."

Mr. Thiaw conveyed his optimism that this target can be achieved, new technologies and green development modes having demonstrated this possibility. "New technologies are green technologies," he said. "China leads in multiple new technologies like LED lightening and sewage treatment." Again, he added, new environmental policies will also help us to achieve the goal.

With regard to new policies, Thiaw praised China's newly-released 13th Five-Year Plan for being advanced by virtue of its full consideration of the environment and sustainable development. The environment is regarded as one of the three pillars of development in the UN Post-2015 Agenda, he said, and should be every country's top priority.

Ibrahim Thiaw was nominated UNEP deputy executive director and assistant-secretary-general of the United Nations by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Prior to his appointment, Thiaw served as director of the Division of Environmental Policy Implementation, which he led in building a strategic partnership within the UN system and with non-UN bodies and countries.

Thiaw's visit to Beijing included attending the Beijing Consultative Meeting on South-South Cooperation on Climate Change, wherein China plays a key role, and in which the UNEP, as the leading environmental agency within the UN, is a major coordinator and supporter. He also held discussions with relevant Chinese authoritative departments on potential cooperation and partnership, including not only the Ministry of Environment, but also the Ministry of Commerce and the National Development and Reform Commission.