Countries must refrain from “empty slogans” and adopt a pragmatic attitude to climate change that reflects concerns such as energy security, employment and growth, a Chinese climate official said ahead of COP28 climate talks next month.
The latest round of global climate negotiations is set to get underway in Dubai in late November, focusing on the gaps in the implementation of the 2015 Paris Agreement.
A “global stocktake” published by the United Nations in September said the world had fallen behind on climate targets and action was required “on all fronts” to keep temperature rises within 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Richer nations should fulfil their pledge to provide $100 billion in annual climate finance for poorer countries, complete setting up a financial mechanism for “loss and damage” and double adaptation funds, said Xia Yingxian, head of the climate office at China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment.
“Developed countries have an unshirkable responsibility for global climate change and at the same time have the actual ability to deal with climate change,” he told a briefing in Beijing.
