Commentary: US will leave a void in climate leadership. Can China fill it?

Income TALKS

China may also be able to influence climate finance, which is the COP29 environment conference’s central theme.

China helped lead the conversations in Baku by urging functions to settle disputes involving the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), a brand-new climate finance goal that prioritizes developing nations ‘ requirements and closes accessibility spaces.

China emphasized the value of international frameworks and argued that developed nations should still lead in contributions to climate finance because of the principle of shared but distinct responsibility.

COP29 parties were able to believe on a new target consisting of two parts: Increasing” key” funding from the initial US$ 100 billion to at least US$ 300 billion annually by 2035, and an “additional coating” of up to US$ 1.3 trillion generally encompassing private financing. The NCQG result reflected development, despite the criticisms that some developing nations had for its lack of ambition.

Interestingly, China agreed to include its South-South and international development bank funding in the new finance goal in the COP29 agreement. This represents a substantial advance.

China has even, for the first time, officially announced its climate finance efforts. Vice-premier Ding Xuexiang stated at COP29 that since 2016, China has contributed and mobilized 177 billion yuan ( more than US$ 24 billion ) to weather actions.