China sees a key role in reaching carbon neutrality before 2060 in its national emissions trading system which has been tested on regional level since 2013. The establishment of an ETS is also part of the Chinese Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement. While current climate protection ambition in China has concentrated on the reduction of CO2 emissions, non-CO2 emissions should be emphasized in the future as well. The “Sino-German Cooperation on Emissions Trading Systems, Carbon Market Mechanisms, and Industry-related N2O Mitigation” has thus started into a new project phase which incorporates both CO2 and non-CO2 emissions in its workstreams. The goal of the project is the availability of capacities alongside an availability of political options for the national ETS and other innovative instruments for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Therefore, the project will jointly with the National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation (NCSC) promote the development and refinement of the ETS. Additionally, a handbook summarizing experiences and knowledge on N2O mitigation will be designed with the purpose of developing policy options for China. A proposal on potential cooperation on HFC gases will furthermore be jointly prepared.
China shows a high-level of interest in addressing climate change and plans to reach peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030. Like all other countries, China faces many challenges in the implementation of its NDC, the political framework for reaching these goals.
The “Sino-German Cooperation on Climate Change – Climate Partnership” is now in its fourth project phase and continues to contribute to the climate governance system in China and Germany. The project supports bilateral climate policy dialogues through the Sino-German Working Groups, IKI Workshops for knowledge exchanges, and Track-2-Dialogues. The exploration of new fields of cooperation within trilateral cooperation through background papers, studies or project and proposal sketches to relevant policy makers is another important workstream. Additionally, a proposal on how Germany and China can cooperate in the area of sustainable finance will be prepared as part of the project.
The “Sino-German Cooperation on Climate Change – NDC Implementation” is a newly established project with the goal of furthering ambitious climate action within the context of the Paris Agreement. The project supports Chinese administrations which are responsible for climate policy on the national level. The project will furthermore support provincial and municipal-level cooperation and their implementation of the NDCs. On a sectoral level, the project will initially engage in the cement sector.
Important elements of this project are also the political dialogue with Germany accompanied by mutual learning of German and Chinese project partners on the national and subnational level. A Track-2-Dialogue has already been facilitated in this context.
The project works within a wide consortium of world-class partner institutions from the field of climate change.
With the launch event, the “Sino-German Cooperation on Climate Change – Climate Partnership” officially started their fourth project phase while the newly commissioned project “Sino-German Cooperation on Climate Change – NDC Implementation” officially took up its work. Additionally, the launch of the “Sino-German Cooperation on Emissions Trading Systems, Carbon Market Mechanisms, and Industry-related N2O Mitigation” was celebrated, which is an extension of the project “Capacity Building for the Establishment of Emissions Trading Schemes (ETS) in China” to now include an N2O component.
Attendees from political side included representatives of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People’s Republic of China (MEE) and the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China (MofCOM). Additionally, Climate Analytics, GIZ, the National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation (NCSC) and the NewClimate Institute joined the event as implementing agencies.
During the keynote speeches, which were delivered by Dr. LI Gao, Director General of the Department of Climate Change in the MEE, Dr. Karsten SACH, Director General for International and European Policy, Climate Policy in the BMU and Mr. WANG Tianruo, First Secretary of the Department of International Trade and Economic Affairs at MofCOM, the importance of joint efforts in the fight against climate change was underlined.
