Global EditionASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
Lifestyle
Home / Lifestyle / News

COVID-19 has turned out to be a great leveler for global economies

By Ullattil Manranjith | China Daily | Updated: 2021-01-22 11:08
Share
Share - WeChat

Was 2020 the annus horribilis as most would remember it to be? Yes, it was a year in which global economies were ravaged by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and life as we pretty much knew came to a standstill.

But it was also a watershed year in the international context on climate and environment as it has changed unexpectedly for the better. The European Union and China, followed by other large economies, made unilateral and unconditional commitments (2030-60) to climate neutrality. US President Joe Biden advocates a "clean energy revolution", and has said the US will rejoin the Paris Agreement.

Major transnational agreements like the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, Brexit and the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment between China and the EU were also inked. And most of these agreements have the potential to make a significant difference in our daily lives. Among all these it is the CAI between China and the EU that has the potential to shape a new future.

Arvea Marieni, a Hamburg-based climate change expert, tells me that the CAI can be a convergence tool and ensure the necessary level playing field for economies. "Principles (and measures) of environmental and climate sustainability are being incorporated into the European Union's economic agreements. What we are now seeing is a path anticipated in words, but never beaten until now," she says from Germany.

The progress achieved in the last few months can offer a blueprint for reform of the international trade and energy systems, largely through common environmental and industry standards and strengthening the rule-based multilateralism, she says.

Corrado Clini, former environment minister of Italy and a veteran climate change negotiator, believes that in just a few months, results have been achieved that were unthinkable for over three decades. With several countries in the process of updating their greenhouse gas reduction targets, like when they will attain peak emissions and when they will reach net zero carbon emissions, the Paris climate agreement goals seem even closer, he says.

But the road is still very long, according to experts. To win the fight over climate change, emissions must fall by 7.6 percent every year. There was some progress last year when the pandemic caused emission reductions of about 7 percent, they say.

Arvea believes that the alignment on climate and environment allows both Brussels and Beijing to exploit the competitive advantages acquired with shrewd policies on renewables and green technology.

Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the EU Commission, says, the EU is integrating climate objectives into all sectoral policies and international trade agreements. The EU wants to prove that a zero-emissions economy is not only possible but is also a better and fairer model. A transformation of this size, which is a revolution, offers an opportunity to act to avoid perpetuating inequality, according to senior Commission officials.

But it is always economic necessity that drives such a change. The next industrial revolution is already underway. Technology is already reshaping global production chains. From this perspective, China's new "dual circulation" strategy is not just a reaction to growing geopolitical tensions, but a consequence of profound changes in production systems, the experts say.

In April 2019, when Chinese and international partners jointly launched the BRI International Green Development Coalition as a policy dialog and communications platform, as well as a green technology exchange and transfer engine for advancing global consensus on green development and the eco-transition, they certainly were forward-looking. With its guidance project, aimed at the formulation of guidelines on the classifications of BRI projects, the BRIGC was anticipating both the EU and the Chinese taxonomies (taxonomy regulations) that will have a tremendous impact on climate finance to promote clean projects that take into account environmental, climate and biodiversity impacts.

Zhang Jianyu, vice-president of EDF and international coordinator of BRIGC, told me that it is important to recognize and address the eco-environmental risks in overseas investments. "Enhancing the whole life cycle of environmental management and climate risk mitigation in BRI investments will greatly contribute to the attainment of nationally-determined contributions and sustainable development as a whole," he says.

Zhang says China has already launched the world's largest emissions trading system and there is huge potential that both China and the EU can jointly explore through enhanced bilateral cooperation on the ETS and through the work in the BRI countries. In this respect, EU policies also seem to be broadly consistent with Chinese policies on energy transition and the plan to build up an "ecological civilization".

Every cycle of innovation rises from the ashes of an old system. Those who accept the challenges of industrial disruption, the innovators and visionaries, will dictate the rules of the new geo-economy, says Arvea.

Most Popular
Top
BACK TO THE TOP
English
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US
 
主站蜘蛛池模板: 青青草成人影视| 好男人好资源在线观看免费| 国产香蕉精品视频在| 亚洲啪啪综合AV一区| 99re热久久| 欧美aaaaaaaaaa| 国产一区二区三区在线免费观看 | 妞干网免费在线视频| 亚洲欧美日韩人成在线播放| 欧美亚洲另类视频| 无码日韩精品一区二区免费| 亚洲黄色免费电影| 免费a在线观看| 成人免费av一区二区三区| 亚洲欧美日韩综合一区| 羞羞视频免费观看| 国产裸舞福利资源在线视频| 中文字幕一区二区三区日韩精品| 波多野结衣大战欧美黑人| 国产成人综合亚洲AV第一页| 一级特黄女人生活片| 欧美式free群乱| 四虎成人精品国产永久免费无码| 97精品国产97久久久久久免费| 新婚熄与翁公老张林莹莹| 亚洲精品美女久久777777| 2019中文字幕在线| 日产乱码卡1卡2卡三卡四在线| 人妻少妇精品视频一区二区三区 | 亚洲免费成人网| 老师白妇少洁王局长| 国内精品久久久久影院一蜜桃| 久久天天躁狠狠躁夜夜躁2014 | 国产日韩美国成人| 一级毛片在线观看免费| 日韩免费观看一级毛片看看| 俄罗斯乱理伦片在线观看| 国产妇乱子伦视频免费| 女教师合集乱500篇小说| 亚洲AV无码一区二区三区在线 | 亚洲sss视频|