France tries to boost EU-China climate ties following Washington's exit from climate initiatives

French Environment Minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher has departed for China on May 28, aiming to strengthen EU-China cooperation on global climate efforts as the US has adopted a new direction refusing to join the global initiatives. A decade ago, world leaders in Paris pledged to limit the rise in average global temperatures to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and to strive toward keeping it within 1.5°C—a target now under even greater threat.

This increasingly fragile goal is being further undermined by US President Donald Trump’s renewed withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, as an article by Euractiv points out, together with his administration’s aggressive ramp-up of domestic fossil fuel exploitation.

While in Beijing, Pannier-Runacher hopes France and China will issue a public recommitment to the 2015 Paris climate accord, setting the tone for an upcoming EU-China summit scheduled for July.

“At a time when confidence in climate multilateralism, the COP process, and the Paris Agreement is wavering, it is essential that China and the European Union deliver a strong, united message,” the article cites an aide from the minister’s office. “To be perfectly clear, we believe strong and visible EU-China leadership is necessary,” the official added, noting Pannier-Runacher had coordinated the mission with EU climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra beforehand.

According to the article, France also plans to address the contentious issue of climate finance—namely, how to fund the efforts of poorer nations to both fight and adapt to climate change’s mounting impacts.

Countries of the "Global South" have long argued that industrialized nations are historically responsible for global warming and must help fund a cleaner development path for emerging economies. This ongoing dispute dominated the COP29 summit in Azerbaijan last year, where China—despite being the largest current greenhouse gas emitter—continued to assert its status as a 'developing' country under international climate norms.

Meanwhile, a new warning from the World Meteorological Organization published this week highlights the climate emergency’s rapid escalation. According to the WMO’s forecast, there is a 70% likelihood that the global average temperature will exceed the 1.5°C threshold at least once in the next five years, with strong chances of setting a new annual heat record.

By Nazrin Sadigova