Rich must fix broken promises says executive

Zhu Xian, vice-president and secretary-general of International Finance Forum, said that global leadership must "transcend national interest" in order to tackle climate change, and called on rich nations to fix broken promises, avoid protectionism and better support the low-carbon transition in the developing world.

Zhu, former World Bank vice-president, made the comments in an exclusive interview with China Daily this week during the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties, or COP26, which is in its final days of negotiations.

"You really need global leadership — not just from one part of the world, but collective global leadership," Zhu said. "Every country probably says my top priority is my own national interest, and that may be legitimate, but you need leadership that can somehow transcend short-term, narrowly-defined national interest."

In Glasgow, global leaders are negotiating measures to keep the average global temperature to within 2 C and preferably 1.5 C of warming, a target laid out six years ago in the Paris Agreement.

Zhu said that "actions are more important than words", and made a distinction between countries that have provided details about how their low-carbon transitions may be achieved, and those that have set vague and distant goals.

"We should really see not only the announced pledges by each of the national governments, but also actions," said Zhu.

In particular, he said that those calling for more ambitious targets from China must recognize that the nation is among the minority to provide a comprehensive strategy for peaking emissions and achieving carbon neutrality.

Following a September 2020 commitment to peak CO2 emissions before 2030 and to reach net-zero by 2060, China released five key documents just before the COP26 conference detailing how it will achieve its goals.

"Instead of pushing China for more ambitious targets, I think it's probably more effective to try to support China in terms of translating such goals into credible actions," Zhu said. "China recently announced action plans industry by industry — that probably is more important than trying to place on China a more ambitious agenda."

Zhu added: "If China can fully commit actions toward peaking, and then eventually in the (following) 30 years toward neutrality, that probably can be seen as huge progress."

Zhu, a former World Bank vice-president who has held roles at the Asian Development Bank and the New Development Bank, said that rich nations had a responsibility to take the lead on climate action. He also expressed concern over the failed pledge to meet $100 billion in annual climate finance for the developing world by 2020. This target was missed by around $20 billion last year, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

"I have worked in international financial institutions for a long time, particularly in developing countries and emerging markets," said Zhu, who was country director for the World Bank in Bangladesh and later the Pacific Islands, Papua New Guinea, and Timor-Leste. "These countries seriously need financial support. So the commitment by advanced economies to provide financial support annually of $100 billion is crucial — there has been some progress (at COP26), but I don't see a strong sign that this can be fully fulfilled."

Zhu also said it is imperative that developing countries are not penalized by cross-border mechanisms designed to reduce emissions. One such instrument, the European Commission-proposed Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, or the CBAM, proposes a levy on certain trade products. Several commentators have expressed concern that this might amount to a tax on goods from countries with less developed low-carbon infrastructure.

"If you really want to push forward with such a mechanism, you need to discuss and debate, so that it is designed so as not to unnecessarily hurt or damage economies and populations of emerging market countries or developing countries," Zhu said. "We should really have an open mind, so that such a mechanism is not to be seen as protectionism, because if a market is protectionist, it is not (mutually) beneficial, rather it's a zero-sum game."

Some have suggested that Europe could increase support for the CBAM if it reinvested proceeds back into low carbon projects and climate adaptation and mitigation efforts in poorer regions, an idea that Zhu said he supports.

"If the national governments or regions like the (European Union) can agree that the proceeds of such a border adjustment mechanism would be put back into emerging markets and developing countries, I think that probably should be welcome," Zhu said.