China says fund for poor nations is “biggest hurdle” in climate talks

Establishing a fund to help poor countries cope with climate change will be “the biggest obstacle“During the UN talks to try to curb global warming that will begin in Glasgow on October 31, a Chinese environmental official said on Wednesday.

Richer countries agreed in 2009 to establish a $ 100 billion a year fund to help transfer technologies and minimize climate risks in the developing world, but progress has been slow.

Alok Sharma, chair of the COP26 conference, said this week that he expected the fund to be available in 2023, three years later https://www.reuters.com/business/cop/developed-nations-say-they-can-deliver-100 -bln-climate-change-fund-by-2023-three-2021-10-25 than planned.

“The question of whether rich countries will support developing countries in tackling climate change, or simply pass on their emissions reduction responsibilities to developing countries, has become the biggest obstacle to the ongoing progress of this process. multilateral”Said Ye Min, Vice Minister of Ecology and Environment.

At a press conference in Beijing, Ye said the fund was related to the “mutual political trust“, As well as with the practical capacity of the poorest nations to take action against climate change, and that the COP26 meeting in Glasgow needed”make commitments”.

China, the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, is classified as a developing country. The second world economy has continued to emphasize the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities”Enshrined in the Kyoto Protocol.

Beijing says the richest nations with the largest historical carbon footprints should take on the lion’s share of the emissions cuts.

The Paris Agreement commits countries to present to the United Nations “Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC)”To combat climate change. The first accurate contribution figures from China were released in 2016.

Activists, experts and observers hoped that China would include more ambitious goals and measures in an updated list of NDCs that will be formally presented to the United Nations before the Glasgow talks begin.

In a “White bookOn climate change also released on Wednesday, China said its NDCs would include existing commitments to peak carbon emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, both milestones already set in 2016.

He also said that he will increase the share of non-fossil fuels to 25% of total energy consumption by 2030, up from the previous commitment of “about 20%”And will increase the installed capacity of wind and solar energy to 1,200 gigawatts.