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War, Peace and the Green Economy

  • Text
  • Green economy
  • Peace
  • War
  • Ukraine
  • China
  • Africa
  • Europe
This magazine is about the world’s collective and potentially transformational journey towards a green economy. It is also about taking you, the reader, on what we hope is an equally fascinating ”green voyage” across some key parts of Europe as well as to Africa and China.

WAR, PEACE AND THE GREEN

WAR, PEACE AND THE GREEN ECONOMY China and EU can – must – cooperate on green goals, despite differences The sombre moment of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine requires that China and the EU put aside their differences and strengthen their cooperation on the green transition – even if doing so is difficult. By FU JING Global warming and extreme weather are common global challenges that concern all of us. It is heartening to see that the EU has taken the lead at the UN Climate change talks in Copenhagen, Paris and Glasgow, thereby given a new lease of life to multilateral efforts to fight climate change. What’s more, the EU is leading the way in pushing the climate goals even higher through its development policies, investment programmes and by providing financial incentives for the green transition. Importantly, the Covid-19 pandemic and its social-economic consequences have further boosted the bloc’s green ambitions. However, many of us are watching to see to whether these commitments will be impacted by Russia’s war against Ukraine and the worsening geopolitical landscape. In fact, this sombre moment requires that China and the EU put aside their differences and strengthen their cooperation on the green transition – even if doing so is difficult. Beijing and Washington have set an example for such cooperation by signing three official climate-related communiques during president Barack Obama’s second term — and the Biden administration has also been in discussion with China on issues related to the Paris Agreement. This illustrates both sides willingness to work together on tackling climate change despite their many other areas of discord. These US-China conversations should be a reference for policy-makers in Brussels, who may be looking for assurances of Beijing’s determination in moving ahead to implement the Paris Agreement and proof of China’s commitment to international climate politics. Brussels and Beijing must work hand-in-hand to ensure that there is no backtracking in collective efforts to reduce carbon emissions and achieve carbon neutrality in the years ahead. Importantly, both Beijing and Brussels are turning their international climate pledges into domestic policies. 33

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