Experts praise platform for tackling challenges

The China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development has evolved from a platform generally dominated by foreign experience into a dynamic one where experts from home and abroad collaborate to tackle environmental challenges, CCICED council members said.

They also noted that the council, a high-level international advisory body for the Chinese government, also serves as a vital conduit for disseminating China's environmental management practices to the global community.

The council members made the remarks in the lead-up to the annual general meeting of the council being held in Beijing from Thursday to Saturday.

CCICED Vice-Chairperson Kristin Halvorsen said she is highly impressed by how Chinese authorities have embraced the platform's suggestions.

"In CCICED, we don't make individual recommendations, although we take initiatives for recommendation proposals. I firmly stand behind the CCICED recommendations going forward to the State Council, and my impression is that surprisingly many of these are followed up — if not immediately, then after some time," she said.

Halvorsen, who is also director of the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research in Oslo, Norway, said she is particularly pleased with the progress made in matters related to climate change, an issue China has aggressively worked to cope with.

She also endorsed the observation that the council has transitioned into a platform where Chinese and foreign members collaborate on environmental issues. Previously, CCICED primarily centered on foreign council members bringing their international experiences to address China's environmental challenges.

"It is now much more of a two-way exchange of experiences between Chinese and international experts," she emphasized.

CCICED has closely followed the greening of the Belt and Road Initiative and has also provided some recommendations on how this work should be carried out. The platform's work on climate change has focused on global governance issues, showing the importance CCICED places on China's impact in a global context, Halvorsen said.

"We all recognize China's immense importance in global challenges like climate change, both as a source of the problem and as a provider of solutions to the challenges," she said, adding she believes there are several international problems that cannot be solved without China, and CCICED is eager to play its role in enabling China to contribute to finding solutions.

"China is arguably the world's leader in providing green technical solutions at a reasonable cost. My hope is that the international community will embrace these important Chinese contributions to facilitate global solutions," she said.

Ani Dasgupta, president and CEO of the World Resources Institute, became a CCICED council member in 2021, with several of his predecessors at the institute holding the same position for many years.

"We have partnered with CCICED on various initiatives, including research supporting biodiversity finance, sustainable agri-food systems, trade and sustainable supply chains, etc. Work like this has brought together many critical stakeholders and has created meaningful frameworks for joint action and policy," he said.

He has also observed the transition that has happened in the council. CCICED has been a critical knowledge-sharing platform. When members come together in China, sharing and bringing unique perspectives and experiences to the table, more innovative and comprehensive solutions have emerged, he said.

Dasgupta said CCICED is not only collecting best practices to address China's domestic environmental concerns, but is also considering how the lessons learned in China can be applied in other countries and markets as well. "I believe the existence and evolution of CCICED embodies China's increasing capabilities and strong sense of shared global responsibility in tackling climate change and biodiversity loss," the council member said.

He said his experiences as a council member have made it clear to him how eager and ready China is to implement effective policies. When the WRI partnered with CCICED on research examining the role of the Belt and Road Initiative in soft commodity supply chains, the conversation broadened to the huge role China could play in safeguarding trees in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil, Dasgupta added.

As China is the world's largest consumer of soy products, its policies could shift demand in the supply chain toward deforestation-free soy. "And because CCICED had already brought the right people into the room, we were able to help bring WRI's evidence and research into policy exploration in less than a year," he said. "China is now working closely with Brazil in a wonderful example of a bilateral — rather than unilateral — trade agreement.

"As China's influence has grown on the world stage, CCICED council members have increasingly recognized China's role as both a critical player and leader in addressing international climate and sustainability issues, particularly in areas like green finance, renewable energy and biodiversity conservation."