Climate justice: Keyword of 2010 diplomacy

Experts:
Pan Jiahua (Director of Urban Development and Environment Research Centre, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)
Lv Xuedu (Deputy Director of National Climate Center)
Xu Huaqing (Director of the Center for Energy, Environment and Climate Change Research, Energy Research Institute, State Development and Reform Commission)
Reporters:
Wu Qimin, Wei Dongze, Jiao Xiang (People's Daily)

Editor's Note:Over the past two decades, the climate change issue has continued to heat up and has aroused widespread concern in the international community. It has become one of the central issues in bilateral and multilateral diplomatic occasions. As the political, diplomatic, economic, and geographical factors are becoming increasingly intertwined in the international negotiations on climate change, the climate change issue has become an important subject for international relations.

Warming and the "show"

Reporter: Since the UN General Assembly started negotiations on “The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change" in 1990, action on international climate governance were pushed forward continuously and all the governments have considered it as a main area of diplomacy. Some one even said that 2010 would be the year of climate diplomacy. Would you like to say something on this point of view?

Pan Jiahua: UN climate talks have experienced a difficult period for 20 years since the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was established in 1988. In 2009, the clouds of Copenhagen climate talks have left lots of intricate mysteries. So, I think that climate diplomacy can not be cool but will only heat up in 2010. As climate change is involved with climate protection and national rights and interests, climate diplomacy turns out to be very important. However, in view of the impacts of the global financial crisis, it is easy to predict that international negotiations on climate change will be a complex game in 2010.

Lv Xuedu: The climate change issue has become a subject that most summits have to talk about. So, in 2010, climate change negotiations and the intensity of high-level consultation will be no less than in 2009. And what's more, many countries will follow “The Copenhagen Accord" to draft the domestic action objectives to address climate change and put them into practice. Therefore, it is objective and rational to say that 2010 to be a year of climate change.

Xu Huaqing: Although the forms of current climate negotiation and cooperation have seen some changes, the basic pattern has not fundamentally changed. During the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, leaders from more than 130 countries and international organizations participated, which fully reflects the international community's great attention to climate change issues, as well as the strong political will to strengthening cooperation and coping with challenges together. As the final stage of “the Bali Road Map" negotiations approach, we should clearly realize that the upcoming negotiations need appropriate bilateral and multilateral diplomacy to promote and to turn the political will into action. This is particularly important for some developed countries. Only if they can come up with a substantial reduction commitments and action can the international community move on with hope. Otherwise, even if more forums are organized and more diplomatic activities are carried out, they might leave the impression of just being "shows".

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