Should be the first to significantly reduce emissions, China: Developed countries bear historical responsibility for climate change, Zhang Jun | Climate change | China
On the 13th, Zhang Jun, the Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations, stated at the open debate on climate and security in the Security Council that developed countries have a historical responsibility for climate change and should take the lead in significantly reducing emissions.
Zhang Jun said in his speech that the Security Council has held multiple meetings to discuss the relationship between climate and security, and there are clearly differences of opinion that need to be further explored. Denying the correlation between climate and security is not a scientific attitude; It may not be a scientific attitude to generalize climate issues and discuss the security impacts of climate change beyond specific contexts.
Zhang Jun stated that there are significant differences in the ability of countries to respond to climate change, which is due to the huge gap in development levels. Therefore, the most fundamental way to block the transmission of climate change to security risks is to start from development, help developing countries bridge the development gap, and improve climate resilience and response capabilities. In this regard, the Security Council cannot become a forum for dialogue and pursue "political correctness". Instead, it must be down-to-earth, combine its own authorization, and truly do practical things to help developing countries cope with security risks.
Zhang Jun said that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Paris Agreement are the most important guidelines for addressing climate change. The basic consensus expressed in the convention is that developed countries have a historical responsibility for global climate change. They should be the first to significantly reduce emissions and achieve net zero or even negative carbon emissions earlier. Unfortunately, since last year, some developed countries have experienced a regression in their energy policies, with fossil fuel consumption and carbon emissions increasing instead of decreasing. This situation is concerning and the Security Council should pay close attention to it. This also raises a question, if climate change poses a potential security threat, will negative and regressive actions in fulfilling emission reduction obligations, including unilateral withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, also pose a threat to international peace and security? Can the Security Council take coercive measures authorized by the United Nations Charter to correct these negative behaviors? This is worth our in-depth thinking.
Zhang Jun pointed out that developed countries have a significant historical debt on climate financing issues and need to fill the annual gap of $100 billion as soon as possible, and set new collective quantitative funding targets after 2025. Some countries use the excuse of promoting their own energy transformation to invest billions of dollars in high subsidies for their manufacturing industry through various unfair laws and administrative measures. At the same time, they impose trade barriers on other countries' green industries, cutting off the path for developing countries to obtain green technology. These actions blatantly violate WTO rules, disrupt global green industry and supply chains, undermine the efforts of countries to achieve sustainable development goals, and run counter to the collective efforts of the international community to address climate change. These actions also make the beautiful slogans of the relevant countries appear pale and hypocritical. The Security Council should play a role and firmly oppose such actions and practices.
Zhang Jun said that the ecological environment is the foundation of human survival and development. China is willing to continue working hand in hand with all parties to promote the construction of a fair, reasonable, and win-win global climate governance system, and jointly build a clean and beautiful home on Earth.
