GLOBE Legislators Forum in Tianjin (China): Report of GLOBE EU MEP Chris Davies (ALDE, UK)
Wednesday, 17 November 2010 13:19 | 
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On 6-7 November, a Legislators Forum promoted by GLOBE International and hosted by the National People’s Congress of China took place in Tianjin to exchange views on climate change policy in China. The GLOBE Forum was jointly chaired by the Rt. Hon. John Gummer, Lord Deben and Chinese Congressman, Chairman Wang Guangtao. 15 parliaments from the major economies participated in the Forum which was addressed by the UK Secretary of State for Energy & Climate Change, Rt. Hon. Chris Huhne MP ahead of the Prime Minister’s visit to China. Back from the meeting, GLOBE EU Member Chris Davies MEP (ALDE, UK) shared his impressions in a letter in which he welcomes China’s plans to introduce a Climate Change Law with mandatory energy requirements next year…
“Dear Colleague,
On 6/7 November I represented the Parliament at the GLOBE legislators' forum in Tianjin, China, hosted by the National People's Congress. It was attended throughout by ten members of the NPC's Environmental Protection and Resources Conservation Committee, with whom the various GLOBE legislators from a dozen countries around the world had a positive and relatively open exchange of views. The Chinese representatives referred to the changes that climate change is already bringing about in their country, and to their belief that China will be hard hit by the effects of global warming.
China used the opportunity to announce that it would next year approve a Climate Change Law that will introduce a number of mandatory requirements - presumably relating to its objective of reducing its 'carbon intensity' by 42-45% by 2020, and getting 15% of its electricity from renewable sources. This is regarded as a significant and welcome development given China's refusal at Copenhagen last year to allow international agreement on the setting of CO2 reduction targets even for developed countries.
China confirmed that emissions trading would play a role in helping the country meet its CO2 restrictions but no commitment was made to linking with the EU emissions trading system. The Director-General of DG Environment, Jos Delbeke, was in China at the same time specifically to discuss this very topic.
During a general debate about how legislators can ensure that governments comply with their commitments, I referred to the need for the European Parliament to receive reports that will allow us to track the performance of Member States and assess the likelihood of them being able to meet our 2020 targets. Perhaps the Parliament's Industry and Environment Committees should consider this in more detail.
GLOBE used the occasion to publish a first information report that indicates the various climate change initiatives and legislation being introduced in different countries. It is the intention that this resource will be kept updated and made available on its website.
A statement was issued at the conclusion of the forum that refers to the often stated need to limit the increase in average global temperatures to 2 degrees Celsius. I would only comment that, not least because of China's rapid growth and fast-expanding use of fossil fuels, there was little conviction on the part of legislators that such a limit can be respected.
With regards,
Chris Davies MEP”
On 6/7 November I represented the Parliament at the GLOBE legislators' forum in Tianjin, China, hosted by the National People's Congress. It was attended throughout by ten members of the NPC's Environmental Protection and Resources Conservation Committee, with whom the various GLOBE legislators from a dozen countries around the world had a positive and relatively open exchange of views. The Chinese representatives referred to the changes that climate change is already bringing about in their country, and to their belief that China will be hard hit by the effects of global warming.
China used the opportunity to announce that it would next year approve a Climate Change Law that will introduce a number of mandatory requirements - presumably relating to its objective of reducing its 'carbon intensity' by 42-45% by 2020, and getting 15% of its electricity from renewable sources. This is regarded as a significant and welcome development given China's refusal at Copenhagen last year to allow international agreement on the setting of CO2 reduction targets even for developed countries.
China confirmed that emissions trading would play a role in helping the country meet its CO2 restrictions but no commitment was made to linking with the EU emissions trading system. The Director-General of DG Environment, Jos Delbeke, was in China at the same time specifically to discuss this very topic.
During a general debate about how legislators can ensure that governments comply with their commitments, I referred to the need for the European Parliament to receive reports that will allow us to track the performance of Member States and assess the likelihood of them being able to meet our 2020 targets. Perhaps the Parliament's Industry and Environment Committees should consider this in more detail.
GLOBE used the occasion to publish a first information report that indicates the various climate change initiatives and legislation being introduced in different countries. It is the intention that this resource will be kept updated and made available on its website.
A statement was issued at the conclusion of the forum that refers to the often stated need to limit the increase in average global temperatures to 2 degrees Celsius. I would only comment that, not least because of China's rapid growth and fast-expanding use of fossil fuels, there was little conviction on the part of legislators that such a limit can be respected.
With regards,
Chris Davies MEP”
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