According to Liu Zhenmin, appointed by Xi Jinping as Special Envoy for Climate Change, efforts by the US and Europe to curb China’s leadership in green technologies could slow down the fight against global warming. Liu Zhenmin, who took on the role in January, is heading to his first in-person meetings in the US this month.
These talks are happening at a critical time for international cooperation, marked by doubts about commitments to reduce fossil fuel use, ongoing debates over funding for developing countries, and increasing trade barriers aimed at clean energy supply chains.
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“We need to maintain low costs, otherwise nobody is going to be able to afford the energy transition,” Liu said in an interview with Bloomberg Television.
“What I’m worried about is if the US and European Union continue to insist on that approach, it would result in a delay in the substitution of fossil fuels by renewables globally,” Liu added.
“After more than a decade of their hard work, now we have cheaper wind and solar products, which make it more affordable to start the energy transition,” he said. “I think that this is good for both China and the world.”
Liu Zhenmin referred to China’s former envoy, Xie Zhenhua, as a “climate hero” who was crucial in persuading Xi Jinping to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.
Previously the second-ranking official at China’s leading economic planning organization, Xie directed a renowned climate science institute at Tsinghua University.
