Toward Building New Sino–Dutch Green Partnerships [chapter]

Wim Geerts
2022 China and Globalization  
The 2021 is a crucial year in the global fight against climate change, with the Climate COP26 in Glasgow, UK, in November and the Biodiversity COP15 in Kunming, China, in Q4. We need to deliver results to make sure the Paris Agreement can be fully implemented and show that the world is not backtracking on its commitment to reaching climate goals due to the crisis caused by COVID-19. The Netherlands stays fully committed to the goals set in the Paris Agreement and stands ready to work together
more » ... th China and others to encourage greater ambition in both COPs. Like many other countries, the Netherlands very much welcomed President Xi's speech during the United Nations General Assembly on September 22, 2020, in which he announced that China will strive to become carbon neutral by 2060 and to peak its CO 2 emissions by 2030, as well as the more concrete 2030 targets announced by the president at the virtual Climate Ambition Summit in December 2020. If we are to reach the climate goals of the Paris Agreement, we need China to be a frontrunner. At last year's Two Sessions, the 14th Five-year Plan was adopted, and although this plan does not set new commitments to reach the 2060 carbon neutrality goal or to peak CO 2 emissions earlier than 2030, we have high hopes that China will enhance its policy ambitions through its sectoral five-year plans and the national peak action plan. The Netherlands and China are already working together in many areas linked to climate goals. We have a long history in energy cooperation, especially in offshore wind, and have cooperated extensively to make agriculture more sustainable and improve food quality. We have also worked intensively on water management, in areas including sponge cities and river basin monitoring, environment and transport, and last but not least, we have seen strong growth in scientific collaboration over the years. W. Geerts (B) Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the People's Republic of China,
doi:10.1007/978-981-16-8086-1_10 fatcat:dw5ka67zovh4fmocbyimhtvtbi