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The
European Union and China recommitted Friday to the 2015 Paris climate deal, one
day after the United States announced it would withdraw from it. In a joint
statement, the EU and China said climate change and clean energy "will
become a main pillar" of their bilateral partnership.
European
Council President Donald Tusk said the fight against climate change would
continue, with or without the United States: "Today, China and Europe have
demonstrated solidarity with future generations and responsibilities for the
whole planet," he said. "We are convinced that yesterday's decision
is a big mistake."
Chinese
Premier Li Keqiang, in Brussels for an EU-China business summit, said it was
important for China and EU relationships to become more stable. "We
believe that there have been changes in the international situation, and there
will be rising uncertainty and destabilizing factors," he said. "This
requires our efforts to resolve existing issues."
Other
issues
Besides
climate change, other issues discussed at the summit included trade,
investment, the migration crisis, North Korea and the security partnership in
Africa. Li had expressed China's continued support for the global climate deal
on Thursday during his meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, saying,
"China will stand by its responsibilities on climate change."
European
Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said China agreed with the EU on the
"unhappiness" about America's unilateral decision to abandon the
climate agreement.
The 2015
agreement, signed by 195 countries, calls for reducing the impact of climate
change by keeping the global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees
Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
The EU
and China committed to actions related to climate change, such as developing
ways to change into zero-emissions economies, promoting zero-carbon transitions
in developing countries and developing long-term decarbonization plans.
Wendel
Trio, director of the Climate Action Network Europe, called the EU-China
statement a milestone in the history of global climate diplomacy.
"This
historic partnership to push forward with the Paris Agreement is a significant
advance in the fight against climate change. Through deeper cooperation on
climate action, the EU and China can propel the global clean energy
transition," Trio said.
China and
the EU are two of the three biggest economies in the world with a large carbon
footprint. If one of them were to follow the U.S. withdrawal, it's unlikely
that the Paris accord would lead to large-scale reduction of emissions.
Push from
Greenpeace
Ansgar
Kiene of the environmental activist group Greenpeace said it was clear from the
global response to the American decision that leaders around the world were
united in the fight against climate change. But Kiene urged leaders to
translate their words into actions.
"The
EU and China are switching to clean energy production too slowly to keep global
temperature rises below levels that will cause catastrophic changes in our
climate," Kiene said. "The EU's investment in renewable energy, once
the highest in the world, has dropped off in recent years as its targets for
renewables were too low compared to the real rate of growth."
China
still produces 62 percent of its energy with coal, according to Greenpeace. But
despite its bad record in the past, China's investments in recent years in
solar and wind energy have been much larger than those of any other country.
Investments in renewable energy in Europe, though, have dropped by half in the
past six years.
In
withdrawing the United States from the climate accord, which was signed by his
predecessor, Barack Obama, U.S. President Donald Trump cited the predicted
economic burden and job losses associated with complying with the accord as
some of his reasons.
"The
Paris climate accord is simply the latest example of Washington entering into
an agreement that disadvantages the United States to the exclusive benefit of
other countries," Trump said.
Renegotiation
spurned
Trump
said the U.S. could re-enter negotiations on the climate pact, but that idea
was dismissed by the EU Commissioner for Climate Action Miguel Arias Cañete,
who said Friday that "the 29 articles of the Paris Agreement are not to be
renegotiated, they are to be implemented."
China and
the European Union wrote in their joint statement that they thought investing
in tackling climate change would actually contribute to job creation,
investment opportunities and economic growth.
Many
world leaders have condemned the U.S. withdrawal. French President Emmanuel
Macron even invited scientists to relocate to France, saying in a speech
televised in English, "Make our planet great again." The United
States joined Nicaragua and Syria as the only countries in the world that are
not part of the Paris Agreement.