Joint effort called to address climate change: CIIE forum

“I’m here not to talk about the need for climate action. If the wildfires raging in Australia and California, the devastating floods in Nigeria and Pakistan and the worst drought in China’s history are not enough to prove the seriousness and urgency of the threats we face, nothing’s gonna change,” pinpointed Rahul Ahluwalia, Minister-Counsellor and Director for Financial & Professional Services and Investment at the British Embassy in Beijing while addressing the Climate Change and Low Carbon Development Forum 2022 held on November 6 in Shanghai as a side event of the ongoing fifth China International Import Expo (CIIE).

Themed “Coping with climate change and promoting low-carbon development”, the forum is co-hosted by China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and United Nations Industrial Development Organization, and co-organized by China Chamber of International Commerce, SMI China Council, and World Resources Institute. On the occasion discussions were held on hot topics such as green finance, sustainable transformation, and new energy technology.

All countries should join hands on the path of green, low-carbon transformation, innovation, and sustainable development, noted Ren Hongbin, Chairman of the CCPIT, adding that climate change is related to the survival and development of mankind and the well-being of future generations, and no country can cope with it alone.

Take the floods in Pakistan as an example. Pakistan accounts for less than 1% of global carbon emissions, it is among the 10 countries most affected by climate change. Since June the heavy rains have triggered unprecedented floods that have left a third of the country inundated and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.

According to Global Climate Risk Index 2021 released by Germanwatch – a report that analyses and ranks to what extent countries and regions have been affected by impacts of climate related extreme weather events (storms, floods, heatwaves etc.) – developing countries are particularly affected by the impacts of climate change. Over the last few years, reads the report, “countries like Haiti, the Philippines and Pakistan that are recurrently affected by catastrophes continuously rank among the most affected countries both in the long-term index and in the index for the respective year.”

More needs to be done. “China will work with all parties to promote the green “BRI”, actively participate in and respond to global governance of climate change, and promote the establishment of a fair, reasonable, cooperative and win-win system of climate governance,” Ren Hongbin said.