China is needed to achieve global climate goals, German Vice Chancellor and Minister of Economy Robert Habeck said during a visit to the Asian country, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
„Without China, it will not be possible to achieve global climate goals, Habek told reporters in the eastern city of Hangzhou, a day after meeting with Chinese officials in the capital Beijing.
At the moment, other issues seem to be overshadowing the fight against global warming, but this is a key challenge, so it is necessary to strengthen cooperation with China in this area, the German economy minister said.
Chinese officials explained that they were expanding coal mining for security reasons, Habek also said. “China also imports large quantities of gas and oil and is already seeing what is happening in Europe and Germany in the last two years,” he said, alluding to the energy crisis following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
According to Habek, China must find a safe alternative to coal. “You should not teach them that carbon emissions are harmful to the climate. They know this”, the German minister stressed, adding that alternatives should allow them to achieve the same level of security with fewer coal-fired power plants.
Chinese and European officials said yesterday that they had agreed to begin negotiations over proposed tariffs on Chinese-made electric cars imported into the European market.