To deepen mutual understanding of current climate policy directions and identify opportunities for enhanced Sino-German cooperation, GIZ and the National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation (NCSC) convened a Climate Policy Expert Exchange. Held on 15 October 2025, the dialogue brought together GIZ, NCSC, international think tanks NewClimate Institute and Climate Analytics, and renowned Chinese climate policy experts.
Discussions focused on emerging themes for future collaboration, including industry decarbonisation, non-CO₂ mitigation, and a just transition.
Climate policy in China and Germany – recent developments and outlook
The event began with a presentation by Mr. XU Huaqing, Chief Scientist at NCSC, who outlined the latest developments in China’s climate policy and reaffirmed China’s determination to achieve its carbon peaking and neutrality goals ahead of schedule.
He highlighted top-level policy documents, such as the “Working Guidance for Carbon Dioxide Peaking and Carbon Neutrality” and pointed to China’s rapid progress in renewable energy deployment, reaching 1,410 GW of installed wind and solar capacity by the end of 2024. As China wraps up the final year of its 14th Five-Year Plan attention is turning to the forthcoming 15th Plan: accelerating low-carbon development by strengthening policy frameworks, consolidating market instruments, and advancing system integration (renewables, storage, grids, demand response) to support a credible post-peak decline.
Ms. Juliette de Grandpré, Climate Policy and Carbon Markets Analyst at the NewClimate Institute, followed with an overview of Germany’s trajectory. Germany’s greenhouse gas emissions have fallen to their lowest level in three decades and the achievement of national climate targets is within reach. However, key challenges remain – especially in the transport and building sectors. Current debates focus on maintaining industrial competitiveness while delivering the just transition, calibrating consumer cost impacts, and clarifying the role of carbon management and negative emissions in long-term pathways.
In discussion, participants converged on several takeaways: the green transition is increasingly a driver of economic modernisation in both countries. Effective delivery now depends on balancing the energy trilemma – security of supply, affordability, and environmental sustainability. Cross-border learning on sectoral decarbonisation – in industry, the power sector, and non-CO₂ mitigation – can accelerate progress. Despite headwinds, there was consensus that targeted Sino-German exchange and cooperation can contribute to translating ambition into action.
Exploring themes for future climate policy exchange and cooperation
The second session featured brief expert inputs and targeted discussion, highlighting challenges and opportunities for deeper collaboration across a range of climate policy areas.
Industrial decarbonisation in hard-to-abate sectors creates room for for regulatory exchange on harmonising MRV and product benchmarks for carbon footprints, private sector cooperation on low-carbon processes, as well as dialogue on financing instruments that de-risk investments. Participants recognised a role for carbon dioxide removal (CDR) and carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS), but emphasized the need to prioritise abatement at source. Further exchange could focus on shared criteria for “last-resort” deployment, leakage and permanence standards, and transparent cost/performance tracking to avoid technology lock-in.
For non-CO₂ mitigation, in particular the reduction of methane emissions offers near-term gains. Opportunities include coordinated work on agriculture methane metrics and incentives, joint methodologies for methane MRV, and targeted cooperation on coal-mine methane – especially from decommissioned sites. Ensuring affordable energy while cutting emissions was flagged as essential for social acceptance and competitiveness.
Across themes, a just transition provides the organising lens: aligning climate goals with regional development, employment and social protection. Germany’s experience offers lessons, while the EU’s differentiated approach may map more closely to China’s provincial diversity. Both sides emphasised that a fair, inclusive transition is essential to avoid social backlash and ensure broad public support.
Fostering expert exchange for effective climate change policies
The expert exchange reaffirmed the importance of continued exchange across national borders and institutions. Participants identified strong potential for Sino-German cooperation, while also stressing the need to address deeper systemic questions around consumption, lifestyles, and social acceptance.
Looking ahead, participants called for continued mutual learning as well as stronger policy and research exchange to jointly advance low-carbon development and global climate action.
The workshop and related activities are part of the Sino-German Cooperation on Climate Change – NDC implementation project, a bilateral cooperation project under the International Climate Initiative (IKI) commissioned by the Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN) of the Federal Republic of Germany and cooperating with the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) of the People’s Republic of China. It is jointly implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and China’s National Centre for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation (NCSC).
