China’s former climate envoy to meet with EU to revive flailing UN pact
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Then Chinese climate envoy Xie Zhenhua at the COP28 climate talks in Dubai on Dec 13, 2023.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WASHINGTON/BEIJING – China’s former veteran climate envoy, who previously secured two pivotal climate agreements with the United States, will meet the European Union’s (EU) top green transition official on Sept 16 to resuscitate flailing international climate negotiations ahead of the COP30 summit in Brazil, three sources told Reuters.
Mr Xie Zhenhua, who retired at the end of COP28 climate talks
He will urge the EU to announce more ambitious climate goals and coordinate joint diplomatic efforts ahead of a preliminary climate meeting at UN headquarters on Sept 24.
The meeting is meant to give a boost to the COP30 climate summit that will begin in November in Belem, Brazil, two sources familiar with the meeting told Reuters. The summit is facing potentially low attendance owing to the shortage and cost of hotel rooms as well as the withdrawal of the world’s largest emitter, the United States, from the negotiating process.
Three sources said Mr Xie will meet Ms Ribera, whom he has known for a long time, but they could not confirm whether the meeting will be official or yield a joint statement or agreement.
Two of the sources said ecology minister Huang Runqiu will also attend the meeting but not current climate envoy Liu Zhenmin.
The UN is seeking to pressure major economies, including the EU and China, ahead of Belem. Last week it urged countries to set more ambitious national climate plans in September to advance previous goals pledged under the 2015 Paris Agreement, known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs).
The EU has been struggling to agree on its plan, and in September, countries including France and Poland called for a delay in approving the bloc’s proposed 2040 goal.
China is expected to announce its new NDC by Sept 24, two sources told Reuters.
The US and China had previously delivered big wins in climate diplomacy through the unique relationship of Mr Xie and his US counterparts John Kerry and Todd Stern, but under President Donald Trump the US-China relationship has returned to one defined by trade tension and national security competition over artificial intelligence. REUTERS
