June 2, 2019 – GIZ supported the opening day of the 2019 Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED), one of the most high-level events in China where key issues on climate governance, biodiversity and green urbanization are intensively discussed. Xie Zhenhua, former Vice-Chair of NDRC, and Åsa Romson, former Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden jointly chaired the theme forum on “Post-Katowice Global Climate Governance”. Around the two major topics of “From Katowice to Climate Neutralization” and “Fast and Practical Climate Action Solutions”, the Forum invited Chinese and foreign experts to participate in the discussion and make suggestions.
Xie Zhenhua introduced the topic, noting that the final outcome of Katowice reflected increased confidence in the international community’s ability in dealing with the gravity of climate change. The trend of global green and low-carbon transformation highlighted by the Paris Agreement could not be changed, which is consistent with China’s strategic choice of pursuing high-quality development and strengthening the construction of ecological civilization.
It was highlighted that Germany and China have accepted that climate change is the common concern of humankind and needs to be addressed through international cooperation. It was suggested to enhance ambition: first, to make the argument through pilots and cooperate to deal with challenges and barriers; second, to enhance specific exchange on technologies and make sure that the climate ambitious people have access to the newest and cleanest technologies available in their sector of work; third, to make a blueprint when updating NDC goals and developing a mid-century strategy (Paris Agreement 4.19).
