12/20/2022

Sino-German Track II Dialogue

Jennifer Morgan, State Secretary and Special Envoy for International Climate Action at the German Federal Foreign Office, during her speech.

During COP 27 in Sharm el Sheikh, an event on NDCs and LTS was held in the China Pavilion, supported by the IKI.

The Chinese National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation (NCSC) and the German Environment Agency (UBA) co-hosted the side event “Green Transitions – How international cooperation can contribute to the NDCs and long-term strategies: a case from the Sino-German Track II Dialogue” at COP27. 

The event was attended by Jennifer Morgan, State Secretary and Special Envoy for International Climate Action at the German Federal Foreign Office , Xie Zhenhua, Special Envoy on Climate Change of the People’s Republic of China, and representatives from UBA and NCSC, as well as experts from both German and Chinese institutions. 

Mr. Xie opened the event with remarks highlighting China’s progress in the implementation of its national strategy to combat climate change over the last decade. Mr. Xie identified three challenges, which can be addressed through expert exchange and cooperation: first, balancing energy security with energy transition and the acceleration of renewables; second, driving innovation in technology, mechanization and finance to promote energy transition and drive low-carbon transformation; third, improvement and expansion of carbon market mechanisms. Mr. Xie expressed the wish to draw on lessons learned from Germany and Europe’s emission trading system experiences and pointed to the recent meeting between Chancellor Scholz and President Xi as an established foundation for such cooperation. Mr. Xie closed with the expectation that this Track II dialogue will continue to provide support for practical climate change cooperation between China, Germany and the European Union. 

Ms. Morgan echoed similar sentiments, commending the Track II dialogue for promoting understanding between the two countries while also accelerating climate action. Ms. Morgan’s remarks emphasised the importance of China as a partner for climate action; citing recent extreme weather events in both countries and their solutions as a potential ground for convergence and cooperation. She also reiterated the need to reduce fossil-fuelled energy consumption and simultaneously accelerate the development of renewables in order to achieve emission targets. She also emphasised that a close exchange between Germany and China would offer a great opportunity for learning from each other.

In a keynote presentation, “Non-exhaustive recommendations to a Green Transition: Joint views from Chinese and German experts,” Mr. Xu Huaqing, Director-General of NCSC, reported on the progress of the Track II dialogue to date. Mr. Xu briefed attendees on the progress of joint recommendations from German and Chinese experts to promote long-term national strategy implementation. Mr. Xu was followed by Ms. Laurence Tubiana, CEO of the European Climate Foundation. Ms. Tubiana presented “The contribution of high-level expert dialogue to decision making and international cooperation - the case of ‘Friends of Paris Agreement,’” giving an overview of the contribution of this forum to global climate cooperation. 
The event ended with a panel discussion attended by German and Chinese experts.

The panel discussed ways in which international cooperation can promote effective climate policy implementation. 

Sino-German Track II Dialogue Background

The Sino-German Track II Dialogue on Climate Change and Sustainable Development has supported regular exchange between Chinese and German experts since December 2020. Organised by the National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation (NCSC) and the German Environment Agency (UBA) with the support of the GIZ-implemented IKI project Sino-German Cooperation on Climate Change – Climate Partnership, the dialogue is divided into four working groups: Emissions Trading, Green Economic Growth, Emissions Data Collection and Long-Term Emissions Reduction Strategies. 
 

 

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