Zero-Carbon Mission International Climate Summit 2022

A recording of these remarks can be found on YouTube and Tencent Video

Excellencies, 

Ambassadors, 

Distinguished Guests, 

Ladies and Gentlemen, 

Thank you Phoenix TV and the World Wildlife Fund in China for hosting this important discussion with a distinguished audience. 

This convening comes at a critical time, as world leaders prepare for COP27, the 27th UN Climate Change Conference, that will be held in Egypt next week. It offers a space to reflect on the pressing needs and opportunities that will be considered at that very important event. 

An event that has taken on even more meaning and urgency in light of the alarming changes to our climate and environment that are occurring sooner and at a higher rate than anticipated. 

The devastating floods in Pakistan, Hurricane Ian in the United States, and massive heatwaves and droughts in parts of China, are just a few tragic examples of the countless extreme weather events that have shaken our world in the past year. 

The human race has abused mother nature and now we are witnessing a malevolent side of mother nature. 

Climate change isn’t lurking around the corner, waiting to pounce. It’s already upon us, raining down blows on billions of people, leaving in its wake, death, misery and destitution. 

Last week, in anticipation of COP27, the United Nations issued a report that assesses progress on countries’ emissions commitments to date. The findings were deeply concerning. 

A vast majority of countries are failing to live up to their commitments to fight climate change. Just 26 out of 193 countries have agreed to enhance their climate actions this year and develop more ambitious plans. Most of these countries that have acted are not among the largest emitters. 

This is unacceptable. Backsliding on commitments to reduce emissions will be a fatal blow to the future of our planet and people, leading us on a course toward more climate change, more floods, more fires, more hunger, more diseases, more forced migration and more conflicts. 

Humanity has no choice but to rise to the challenges of this moment. To do so, we need reinvigorated collaboration and leadership. 

We need to find strength and solutions in multilateralism. We must rekindle old partnerships and forge new ones, by focusing on the issues that bring us together, rather than solely on those that divide us. When Member States come together next week at COP27, they must come in the spirit of renewed solidarity and a genuine commitment to jointly deliver on the Paris Agreement. 

This, of course, also means that they must come to the table with financing. Financial resources and investments are critical for reducing emissions, supporting adaptation, and building resilience. Under the Paris Agreement, industrialized countries agreed to transfer US$100 billion annually in climate funds to developing nations. We need these countries to show us the money. The Bretton Woods institutions must reform and do so with urgency. We need international financial institutions to revamp and reorient their business approaches to address climate change. The benefits from these investments will greatly surpass the upfront costs. 

In addition to reinvigorated multilateralism and the financing to back it, we need direction and momentum from inspired leadership. We need renewed commitment and decisive action on the part of all leaders, especially those from the 20% of countries that produce 80% of global emissions. 

Particularly now, as we face soaring energy and fuel prices while governments work to secure supplies amid new conflicts and regional instability, countries must avoid taking action that increases their long-term dependence on fossil fuels. Strong leaders will understand that, while we address urgent energy needs today, we must put in place safeguards to ensure that emergency actions are temporary and do not jeopardize our path toward net-zero emissions. 

And now more than ever, we need China and the U.S. to reassume their joint leadership role on climate change. 

China and the U.S. weigh the most on the global climate agenda. Their responsibilities go far beyond their national constituencies and have a direct and immediate impact on the rest of the world. The absence of dialogue between the two countries at this critical moment risks dooming the chances of progress in Sharm el-Sheikh next week, with dramatic global consequences. 

As the world’s largest economies and largest emitters, the two countries can and should each take dramatic climate action on their own, and together which will have a positive effect globally. 

The two countries have vast scientific knowledge and manufacturing capability that can drive the development of critical technologies and a rapid transition to renewable energy. Joint efforts will yield much more than their independent efforts ever will, and these efforts will have ripple effects across the globe. 

Just as important, the shared influence of these two countries will induce other countries to increase their climate action and cooperation. As global commitments fade in the face of the pandemic, debt crises, and a rise in energy and food prices, China and the U.S. must help drive momentum among the international community, by renewing and reenergizing their individual and joint actions on climate. 

COP27 presents China and the U.S. with a chance to announce greater joint ambitions, including more joint investments in renewable energy, more academic and scientific exchange, more social and policy collaboration, and greater commitment to the Global South. 

There is reason to be hopeful. Over a decade ago, cooperation between China and the U.S. paved the way for the 2015 Paris Agreement. Since then, collaboration between the two nations has driven progress on climate, including in 2021, when their engagement helped revive climate talks in Glasgow. 

This moment, once again, calls for renewed cooperation. 

As countries prepare for COP27, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres noted that the work ahead will be “as immense as the climate impacts we are seeing around the world,” adding that “it is time for a game-changing, quantum level compromise between developed and emerging economies.” 

There is no time to waste. Let us get to work. 

Thank you.