France is advocating for strengthened climate leadership from the European Union and China following the return of Donald Trump as US President. A senior French government official emphasized this stance ahead of the visit of France's Minister for Ecological Transition, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, to Beijing.
Scheduled to meet with Chinese counterparts this week, Pannier-Runacher's visit marks the first by a French environment minister to China in five years. It precedes the upcoming Beijing-Brussels summit in July, which France views as a key moment to publicly reinforce Sino-European cooperation on climate issues.
The visit occurs during a critical period for global environmental efforts. Key events include the COP30 climate summit in Brazil at the end of the year, the UN Ocean Conference in Nice beginning June 9, and planned August talks in Geneva aimed at establishing an international treaty to combat plastic pollution.
A French government source noted that the US withdrawal from climate leadership puts the onus on the EU and China to fill the void. The source stated, "The US pulling out from the Paris Agreement leaves these two key players with the responsibility of taking climate leadership." This withdrawal risks undermining the multilateral cooperation that has driven climate progress, potentially prompting other countries to reconsider their emissions commitments.
China and the EU previously collaborated decisively, as seen in their 2015 bilateral emissions reduction accord, which paved the way for the Paris Agreement. France now aims to encourage renewed partnership between these entities, sending a "very strong message" of climate commitment in the face of shifting global dynamics.
At the recent COP28 summit in Dubai, countries agreed to phase out fossil fuels, though subsequent advancement at COP29 in Baku was limited. Pannier-Runacher plans to engage Chinese environment and natural resources ministers, as well as former climate envoy Xie Zhenhua, to strategize joint approaches for the forthcoming COP30 conference in Brazil.
This diplomatic effort reflects France's determination to bolster international cooperation on climate change, counterbalancing uncertainties from US policy and reinforcing Sino-European leadership on environmental issues.
