Page 4 - AsiaElec Week 40 2022

AsiaElec COMMENTARY AsiaElec

China pushes EU to up the

ante on climate change

CHINA is pushing the European Union to take increase dramatically as authorities in the north
COMMENTARY increased measures in the global fight against of the country push to secure enough coal to
climate change. avoid a repeat of the widespread power cuts
Perhaps ironically, however, Beijing’s crit- experienced last winter.
icisms of European nations come in the same Countering Xie’s attack, the EU has claimed
week that plans have been made public showing that increasing use of coal is only a gap-fill meas-
that China will host around a third of the world’s ure, and that crucially, no knock-on effect in
new coal power installations in the coming years. terms of emissions goals will be noticed.
Speaking to Jennifer Morgan, a German cli- The European Union had previously prom-
mate envoy last week, the head of China’s own ised to reduce CO2 emissions by 55% from levels
climate change negotiation team, Xie Zhenhua, seen in 1990 by the end of the current decade.
said that across the world, management of issues End-goal emission cuts were a subject largely
thrown up by climate change was appearing as a skirted over by Xie, with the Chinese delega-
result of “multiple challenges and uncertainties.” tion to the COP27 talks in Egypt next month
He continued: “The climate policies of some expected to focus on how to aid in financing such
European countries have shown a backswing, cuts rather than in explaining their own moves
and it is hoped that this is just a temporary back towards coal at home.
stopgap.” Later in the conversation with the German
A media release issued later by China’s Minis- climate envoy, Xie insisted that “implementation
try of Ecology and Environment also referred to and action” needed to be the focal point of the
a more direct attack on the EU, with Xie accus- Sharm El-Sheikh talks, while at the same time
ing Western governments of increasing their putting pressure on developed nations to spend
reliance on coal to help offset shortages in gas up to $100bn annually, as pledged in the Paris
supply on the back of Russian actions in Ukraine. Agreement, as a way to help developing nations
In the same missive Xie went on to claim that meet their own goals.
China was following a greener and lower-carbon In doing so, the EU would be helping to
course of action “in contrast with the European improve the climate in some of the nations geo-
Union.” graphically and politically closest to Beijing;
Neither Xie nor the Chinese ministry made nations upon which the world’s second-largest
any mention of Beijing in the same week as the economy remains heavily dependent for its own
signing off on deals that will see new coal mines energy resources.
open across the country in the next few years. A further point of irony not lost on East Asian
China is already understood to have almost energy analysts was a statement later released on
560mn tonnes of new coal mines in the pipeline, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs website on
according to the San Francisco-based NDO comments made by the serving minister, Wany
Global Energy Monitor. This makes up almost Yi, in which he told Secretary-General of the
30% of the world total, with Australia, trailing far United Nations Antonio Guterres that nations
behind at 17%, and India and Russia producing around the world need to establish “a good polit-
16% each, making up the top four. ical atmosphere” and to “abandon unilateralism,
Throughout 2021, Beijing produced just over geopolitical games and green barriers” ahead of
4bn tonnes of coal. This is a figure projected to COP27..

P4 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 40 05•October•2022