New China-EU climate report launched in Brussels

A new high-level report titled 'Powering the Twin Engines: Navigating China-EU Climate Cooperation' has been launched in Brussels, underlining the global importance of collaboration between China and the European Union in tackling climate change. 

Commissioned by CGTN Europe, the report was co-authored by experts from the Institute for European Environmental Policy and Peking University's Institute of Carbon Neutrality.

At the launch event, held at Brussels' Residence Palace and attended by diplomats, climate leaders, and policy experts, the call was clear: China and the EU must act as "Twin Engines" to accelerate the global green transition. 

The report includes forewords from two prominent figures in global climate policy - Xie Zhenhua, China's former top climate envoy, and Jos Delbeke, former EU climate chief - both emphasizing the urgency of deepening bilateral cooperation to achieve the Paris Agreement goals.

"Green is the color of China-EU cooperation," said Minister Zhu Jing from China's Mission to the EU. "Advancing and deepening our green partnership is not only vital for the well-being of our two peoples, but also carries the hopes of global sustainable development."

The report outlines four key recommendations – dubbed the "Twin Engines" – to guide future collaboration:

* Inject strong political momentum

* Accelerate the global green transition

* Enable fair and inclusive solutions

* Mobilise more bottom-up climate actions

Speaking at the launch, Dr. Chiara Antonelli, Head of Programme for Climate and Circular Economy at the Institute for European Environmental Policy, said: "We looked at both China and the EU bloc's individual policies. Then we looked together at what is already there in terms of climate cooperation. But we're mostly focused on what is missing - what is missing at national individual level, and what is missing in the cooperation per se."

The report also comes as China and the EU recognise the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations - an important milestone marking decades of collaboration. Yet speakers at the event were keen to highlight that more can and must be done.

"Both the history of the EU and of China shows that we have the capability of advancing green and clean technologies," said Jan Dusik, Deputy Director-General for Climate Action at the European Commission. 

"There is a lot of momentum, a lot of potential… and we have this approach of being able to deliver on decarbonization and enable cooperation globally."

As the report makes clear, by strengthening their partnership, China and the EU can play a decisive role in ensuring a faster, fairer, and more inclusive global green transition.

The full report is downloadable at Powering the Twin Engines.