Greenpeace Response to China-France Joint Statement on Climate Change

Beijing, November 2, 2015 – A joint climate statement was released today by Chinese President Xi Jinping and French President Francois Hollande. The statement made an incremental step forward while highlighting the ambition gap the world still needs to bridge.

On the two critical components of the Paris Agreement – long term goals and an ambition mechanism – progress was made but work still needs to be done in order to raise ambition before and during the Paris conference.

Commenting on the joint statement, Greenpeace China Climate Policy Advisor, Li Shuo, said:

“Exactly four weeks before world leaders convene in Paris, it is encouraging to see the ball rolling and diplomacy nudging us a small step forward. Moreover, with the recent decline in coal consumption and robust renewable energy development, China is positioning itself at the front of climate leadership. This is drastically different from six years ago in Copenhagen.

However, for Paris to be a success, a far bigger stretch is needed. After waving goodbye to President Hollande tomorrow, Chinese leaders need to think hard about what more to bring to the table when they see him again in Paris at the end of this month.”

On October 30, the UN released a new paper showing that the post-2020 pledges made so far are not sufficient to maintain a temperature rise below 2 degree C. A week earlier, the UN concluded its last round of preparatory talks in Bonn, with an unwieldy draft negotiation text that still sees conflicting views and low ambition.

The Executive Director of Greenpeace France, Jean-Francois Julliard, said:

“This is no time for champagne. This bilateral statement should be another springboard instead of the last word for the Paris agreement. What the world needs in Paris is a global long term vision of a 100% renewable energy supply for all by mid-century and increased ambition by countries every five years starting from now.”