Azerbaijan’s climate envoy highlights China’s role in environmental talks In comments to Nikkei Asia

As the United States retreats from its international climate commitments, China is emerging as a potential leader in global climate diplomacy, according to a recent interview conducted by Nikkei Asia with Yalchin Rafiyev, Azerbaijan’s chief negotiator and deputy foreign minister.

Rafiyev’s remarks provide a glimpse into the shifting dynamics of climate leadership following COP29, which Azerbaijan hosted in its capital, Baku.

With major economies divided over climate responsibilities, China’s position as both the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitter and a major investor in clean energy gives it significant sway. “China mobilized many other developing countries to agree on the final deal,” said Rafiyev. “We had a very constructive cooperation between our presidency and China, who helped us a lot.” He added that this collaboration “shows China has the potential to play a global role.”

The deal referenced by Rafiyev was a milestone: nations at COP29 reached a consensus that developed countries would provide $300 billion annually in climate finance to developing ones, with a goal of scaling that up to $1.3 trillion by 2035 through public and private sources. The agreement was hard-won after “hours and hours negotiating over how much funding developed nations would provide,” Rafiyev noted.

Against this backdrop, Rafiyev sees China as a natural representative for the Global South. “The world’s second-largest economy can be ‘a representative of the Global South and developing countries’ in future climate talks,” he told Nikkei Asia. This assessment gains weight as the United States — once a major driver of climate agreements like the Paris Accord — retreats under political pressure, casting uncertainty over its long-term commitment.

Despite China’s ongoing construction of coal power plants, its clean energy investments are substantial. The International Energy Agency reports that China’s share of global clean energy investment has grown from one-quarter a decade ago to nearly one-third today. Additionally, a report by Zero Carbon Analytics highlights that China has invested $2.7 billion in clean energy projects in ASEAN nations between 2013 and 2023.

“China is playing an important role in the global efforts to decarbonize,” Rafiyev said. “Another factor that makes China likely to take a leading role in climate talks.”

Interestingly, Rafiyev also pointed to the United Kingdom as a potential co-leader alongside China. “The current Labour government is very much inclined to keep the climate agenda high internally, and also quite visibly advocating globally for efficient climate action,” he said.

Looking ahead to COP30 in Belem, Brazil, Rafiyev stressed continuity and focus on execution. “COP30 should be about ‘implementation of the previous [COP] outcomes’ rather than to try and come up with another ambitious target on climate financing,” he argued. “If we continue to increase ambitions without switching to the implementation phase, I’m afraid some more parties could follow the U.S. experience by withdrawing from the Paris Agreement.”

 By Vugar Khalilov