Q&A with PKU MBA Candidate: COP21 Agreement is now signed!

News: COP21 Agreement Signed!

Signing of the COP21 Agreement in NYC last Friday!

BEIJING (Apr. 29) - Last Friday, April 22 (also Earth Day!) commenced next stage of the historic COP21 agreement as 175 countries’ representatives signed the agreement in the United Nation’s New York City office. China followed through on its pledge to sign the charter, as did the United States, despite controversy from the Republican party and skepticism from US Congress.
For China, the COP21 agreement supports the country’s own plan and strategy for green and low-carbon development.
Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli, the special envoy of Chinese President Xi Jinping, said at the signing: "The Chinese people honor our commitments. We will work hard to earnestly implement the Paris Agreement."
China’s participation and cooperation with the US is also an important part of the COP21 agreement: given that US and China are two of the largest greenhouse gas emitting countries, their participation is necessary to reaching the global low-carbon goals. Also, as US Secretary of State, John Kerry said, the US-Sino cooperation can set a standard for other countries:
"Just a few weeks ago President Obama and Chinese President Xi jointly announced our intent to sign the agreement ... and then to join as early as possible this year. That's a signal -- significant signal, really -- of continued commitment and momentum coming from the two largest emitters, which together account for virtually 40 percent of global emissions.”
Moving forward, officials are tasked with issuing sound policies to achieve their goals however, the responsibility does not stop there – in fact, it is the responsibility of everyone to be knowledgeable and participate in national efforts to protect the global environment.

Q & A

GEI Energy & Climate Change  -  PKU MBA Candidate

Global Environmental Institute (GEI) is involved at the highest level of policy influence and trains officials and experts to craft more sustainable low-carbon policies. We also think it is important to spread knowledge of climate change issues to our friends and supporters.
After the COP21 signing, we solicited questions from our foreign friends in Beijing about COP21. Read our Q&A with Energy and Climate Change Program Coordinator, YU Qingchan, and Peking University, Guanghua School of Management candidate, Ammar Jilani (India).
If you have a question you’d like to ask GEI experts, get in touch! We’d love to hear from you.
Please send your questions to Kendall at [e-mail]

Ammar:

How binding are the agreements signed at COP21?

Qingchan:

Every country needs to go through domestic procedures to approve the Paris Agreement. Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli has announced that China will complete its procedures by September 2016. From my understanding, carbon emission reduction targets will be integrated into economic development strategy and plan for each country once the Agreement is domestically approved. Therefore, it is to the benefit of each country to reach its goals regarding climate mitigation and renewable energy development proposed in the Agreement. Penalty may be given to the countries that don’t execute the agreement, but the details related to execution and any such penalties require further discussion. 

Ammar:

What are the realistic expectations from countries in setting their targets?

Qingchan:

The targets proposed in the Agreement are based in the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) submitted and written by each country individually. In this way, the targets follow a bottom-up approach, and the targets have also taken economic development into account. Given this process, the targets should be more realistic and achievable than what could be set by a top-down allocation mechanism. Taking China as an example, the central government has not only announced carbon emission peak target and renewable energy goals, but also make concrete plans and policies to realize them step-by-step. 

Thanks!

You're welcome!

GEI's Energy and Climate Change Program has two main focuses, promoting renewable energy and policy recommendations on climate change and is active throughout China, along the One-Belt-One-Road, and internationally. To learn more, please click "read more!"

Contact the Program Officers:

YU Qingchan    [e-mail]

XU Shengnian  [e-mail]

CUI Nanying     [e-mail]

Media Contacts:

Kendall Bitonte   [e-mail]

WANG Lei          [e-mail]