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Climate Change 2016
October 27-29, 2016
Volume 7, Issue 9(Suppl) J Earth Sci Clim Change
ISSN: 2157-7617 JESCC, an open access journal
conferenceseries .com
October 24-26, 2016 Valencia, Spain
World Conference onClimate Change
China’s participation in climate change negotiation
Chime Youdon
Jawaharlal Nehru University, India
For China, the environment was a neglected issue for a long time while emissions continued to rise because of its rapid
industrialization and urbanization. A modest shift has taken place in Beijing’s approach to environmental governance.
China had moved from a state of ignorance and denial about the possibility of global climate change to a situation where the
Chinese leadership recognises its growing importance. In reality, China is already the world’s largest Green House Gas emitter.
China’s environmental problems are mounting. Water pollution and scarcity are burdening the economy. Rising levels of air
pollution are endangering the health of millions of Chinese. As China’s pollution increases, so do the risks to its economy,
health, stability and international reputation. While, China argued that since developed countries polluted the atmosphere
as they become wealthy, so they ought to reduce their emission before they expect China to do so. In a way, China does not
want to bind GHG emission targets until China becomes a wealthy and developed nation. However, under a plan submitted
to the UN ahead of crucial climate change talks in Paris November 2015, China aimed to cut its greenhouse gas emission per
unit of gross domestic product (GDP) by 60-65 percent from 2005 levels. However, the core question is: will China make a
commitment to the reduction targets set at COP21? The total aggregate size of China and its growing assimilation with the
rest of the world mean that what it does or does not do in the environmental sphere will increasingly impact the world. Thus,
climate diplomacy has become an essential component of Chinese foreign policy with its growing ambition to become a major
world power. Above all, the response to the existential threat posed by a global warming was subdued by the priority given
to economic growth. The politics of climate change becomes no more than a means to the end of economic development and
growth. In this backdrop, this research seeks to analyze the role and performance of China in climate change negotiations.
Biography
Chime Youdon is a PhD candidate in Centre for European Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University. She is currently working on her PhD thesis titled “The European
Union and China in Climate Change Negotiations: From Copenhagen (2009) to Paris (2015). She has completed her MPhil dissertation, titled “The EU-China
Strategic Partnership: Arms Embargo and Human Rights”. She has participated in many national and international conferences. Her areas of research interest are
climate change, foreign policy, gender issues, human rights and the EU and China Strategic Interest and Tibet and China-related issues.
Chime Youdon, J Earth Sci Clim Change 2016, 7:9(Suppl)