PAST EVENT: EU-China Relationship, Environmental Cooperation and Mitigation of Climate Change

COMPARATIVE EXPERIENCES AND CONTRIBUTIONS TO GLOBAL GOVERNANCE IN THE FIELDS OF CLIMATE CHANGE, TRADE AND COMPETITION

EU-China Jean Monnet Network
Ref. 587904–EPP–1–2017–1-ES-EPPJMO-NETWORK

Concluding event

Date: 28 September 2023

Time: 13:00 – 14:15

Registration: 12:30 – 13:00

Venue: European Institute for Asian Studies, Rue de la Loi 26, 10th Floor, Brussels

Programme

12.30 – 13:00 Registration

13.00 – 14:15 Panel Discussion: EU- China relationship, environmental cooperation and mitigation of climate change 

Chair:

• Marta Villar, CEU San Pablo University

Speaker: 

• Luis Planas Herrera, Assistant to the Director-General, DG Environment, European Commission  

Discussants: 

• Justo Corti Varela, UNED 
• Zhang Min, CASS – Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (online)

14.15    End of the Discussion 

EU- China relationship, environmental cooperation and mitigation of climate change

The looming climate crisis has generated a pressing need to mitigate its consequences. Both the People’s Republic of China (China) and the European Union (EU) are committed to international cooperation and to battle climate change through both unilateral and multilateral initiatives. While recognising the current tensions in the wider EU–China relationship, there is a strong joint interest to collaborate on climate action. Already since 2005, both partners have been addressing this issue through their “EU-China Partnership on Climate Change”. Climate change and energy, particularly after the 2015 Paris agreements, are at the top of the agenda for both partners. China has to redesign its energy mix and propose an “Intended Nationally Determined Contribution” for reducing its emissions. The EU experience with the ETS could serve as a model in this definition. Cooperation is crucial to align Chinese and EU policies to develop internationally agreed standards on green finance, digital technology, and clean energy. At the same time, climate diplomacy could work as a catalyst for change towards a more sustainable economy in key fields such as green technology, access to raw materials and third markets. 

EIAS hosted this hybrid discussion on EU-China relationship, environmental cooperation and mitigation of climate change on 28 September 2023. The session was part of the Closing Event of the Project “Comparative Experiences and Contributions to Global Governance in the Fields of Climate Change, Trade and Competition” under the EU-China Jean Monnet Network, co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union. The project has been carried out by a consortium consisting of the University CEU San Pablo, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), Fudan University, University College London and the Catholic University of Louvain (UCL). This Closing Event presented the outcome of the research conducted by the consortium over the past five years. The network shared their experiences and presented their contributions to global governance, particularly in the field of climate change and energy, as they are of increasing strategic interests in EU-China relations. 

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