"Indeed, law matters to address climate change as companies need legal certainty. They have to be sure that the policy will not change to make the huge investments required," said Laurent Bardon, first counsellor for Climate Action and Environment at the European Union (EU) Delegation to China, while joining a recent interview with China News Network in Beijing.
The 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), or COP29, kicked off in Azerbaijan's capital city of Baku in November this year. During the session, all parties have agreed on the subordinate terms under the Paris Agreement, making an important breakthrough.
Although the agreement of international significance was officially effective starting 2016, its specific implementation relies highly on the launch and support of laws and policies among all countries.
Speaking on the global climate governance from the perspective of the policy as well as the environmental protection cooperation and climate governance, Bardon shared his opinions.
"That's why it is so important to have a legal certainty to response to climate change and to reach its objectives," Bardon said.
Citing the establishment of a compulsory carbon market, he introduced that EU has launched the mechanism since 2005. Meanwhile, China has launched pilots of carbon emission trading in batches across the country. It is hereby imperative for the EU and China to share experience and carry out cooperation in this field.
"On the carbon market, companies can buy permits of carbon emission to enjoy carbon emission rights and make tradings. In industrial sectors covered by the mechanism, emissions have diminished more quickly," noted Bardon, emphasizing that the mechanism can not only help companies to know their emission quotas, the price they have to pay to emit, but also help them anticipate and invest better as the annual shrinking envelop of permits to emit is made public years in advance in the EU. Companies know and can plan their investments to limit their emissions.
As of July 15 this year, the cumulative trading volume of carbon allowances in the national carbon market reached 465 million tons, with its cumulative turnover of reached nearly 27 billion yuan ($3.71 billion).
In 2023, the emission intensity of national thermal power generation (CO2 emissions per unit of electricity by thermal power generation) decreased by 2.38 percent compared to 2018, while the carbon emission intensity of electricity was down by 8.78 percent compared to 2018.
The healthy operation of the national carbon emission trading market has played an important role in achieving the "dual carbon" goals and promoting green and low-carbon transformation.
"We have a very strong cooperation between the EU and China on tackling climate change and environmental issues. We have been working very closely together for a very long time. It means there is a lot of trust between us and we know each other very well," said Bardon while mentioning the important roles of the EU and China in global climate governance. He also commended the joint efforts of the two sides on global issues.
In July this year, an EU delegation went for Shenzhen in South China's Guangdong province, seeking for the successful experience to see what Shenzhen has done for climate resilience. From his perspectives, Europe can learn from what China has achieved to the benefit of them. On the other hand, EU's older carbon market mechanism can help China learn and avoid the mistakes that the EU has made in the early years.
Bardon further pointed out that in recent years, the EU and China have worked closely on the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). The two sides have also been cooperating to protecting biodiversity in the high seas and promoting the negotiation of UN plastics treaty.
"In 2025, EU and China have to show leadership in responding to global climate change. As major large economies in the world, the new global environment requires the two sides to show more ambition, so that the other countries can see the EU and China are making a big effort, and are encouraged to follow suit," Bardon concluded.