Ten-year Sino-EU Partnership on Climate Change： Leads to Comprehensive and Pragmatic Cooperation

Jin Ling

Ten-year Sino-EU Partnership on Climate Change： Leads to Comprehensive and Pragmatic Cooperation

Jin Ling

Since China and the European Union （EU） established their partnership on climate change in 2005， their cooperation on climate change has become multi-layered and institutionalized. The two countries have cooperated on key issues such as a clean development mechanism，renewable energy， energy efficiency， and carbon capture and storage （CCS）. With the continued development of Sino-EU relations， their cooperation on climate change has become ever more important in their bilateral relations with more implications. After the low ebb after the World Climate Conference in Copenhagen in 2009， China and the European Union are working together to narrow their differences， achieve consensus among all sides and promote the construction of an international climate change mechanism.

The History of Sino-EU Cooperation on Climate Change

Before China and the European Union established their Partnership on Climate Change in 2005， their cooperation was mainly one-way government-led aid to China. After the establishment of their climate change partnership， the two countries began more pragmatic cooperation， which has become increasingly institutionalized and market-driven. In general， theircooperation to tackle climate change has shifted from one-way aid to twoway reciprocal action， from being government-led to market-driven， and expanded from the environment to climate change， energy， urbanization and many other fields. With the deepening cooperation， their position has become increasingly close in the international climate change negotiations.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang （C） poses for a group photo with President of the European Council Donald Tusk （R） and President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker before the 17th China-EU leaders' meeting in Brussels， Belgium， June 29，2015.

1. From one-way aid to international coordination

The European Union mentioned the issue of climate change for the first time in its second “communication document” presented to China in 1998. The European Union showed its “concern” about the possible influence on the environment resulting from the accelerating industrialization in China and said the European Union would “require China promise to tackleenvironment challenges” and would “provide aid.”1Commission of the European Communities， “Communication from the Commission - Building a Comprehensive Partnership with China，” COM（1998）181 final， March 25， 1998.At that time， the EU's understanding of the climate change issue was mainly from the perspective of the environment and its concern focused on “the possible influence on the environment imposed by Chinese development，” and the major method of cooperation was one-way aid from the European Union to China. In its third policy paper toward China published in 2001， the European Union emphasized the connection between energy and climate change， stating “as the second-largest energy consumer， the size of the Chinese energy industry means its policy has important international implications， especially on air pollution and climate change［...］the European Union should help China make proper strategy and policy to tackle climate change.”2Commission of the European Communities， “Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament- EU Strategy towards China： Implementation of the 1998 Communication and Future Steps for a more Effective EU Policy，” COM （2001）265 final， May 15， 2001， http：//eur-lex.europa. eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/？uri=CELEX：52001DC0265.But at that time， cooperation on climate change was still affiliated with other issues instead of being an independent one. The European Union only provided aid and counted on shaping China's development model by providing aid or imposing pressure. In 2003， the European Union's policy paper towards China put Sino-EU cooperation on climate change under the framework of “strengthening the multilateral system and cooperating to solve global challenges”，3Commission of the European Communities， “Commission Policy Paper for Transmission to the Council and the European Parliament - A maturing partnership - shared interests and challenges in EU-China relations，” May 9， 2005， COM （2003）533 final， September 10， 2003， http：//eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/ EN/TXT/PDF/？uri=CELEX：52003DC0533&from=EN.making their cooperation go beyond bilateral aid and incorporating it into international cooperation.

The issue of climate change then began to feature more prominently in the development of their bilateral relations. The issue first appeared in the joint declaration after the fifth EU-China Summit in 2002， for example，with the two sides expressing their commitment to solving environment problems， their commitment to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change （hereinafter referred to as UNFCCC） and the KyotoProtocol， and emphasized that “bringing the Kyoto Protocol into effect is of great significance.”4“Background information： The 4th EU-China summit joint press communique，” September 15， 2001，http：//news.xinhuanet.com/ziliao/2002-09/15/content_562099.htm.The EU-China Summit in 2003 emphasized the importance of strengthening cooperation under the framework of the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol. In China's first policy paper on the European Union， issued by the Chinese government in October 2003，climate change was mentioned under the framework of environmental cooperation instead of being an independent topic， but China said “it will encourage the exchange and communication between Chinese and European civilian environmental protection groups and support more European companies entering the Chinese environmental protection market through equal competition，”5“China's Policy Paper on the European Union （EU），” October13， 2003， http：//www.fmprc.gov.cn/ce/ cejp/chn/zgbk/hpwj/t62621.htm.showing China's willingness to diversify the means of cooperation.

At the very beginning， Sino-EU cooperation on climate change was mainly led by governments and in the form of one-way aid. This feature was decided by their bilateral relations and respective policies on climate change at that time. From the perspective of their bilateral relations， the emphasis of the European Union's policy toward China at this stage was to influence China's development model through policy aid. And from the perspective of their respective policies on climate change， the European Union didn't begin its comprehensive institutional design and make concrete plans for cutting its emissions until it approved the Kyoto Protocol. Then the European Union's climate policy was just taking its first steps and the European Union didn't have enough experience to share with China； its focus was mainly on whether China would fulfill its commitments. For China， climate change was not yet incorporated into its national development agenda.

2. More institutionalized and market-driven cooperation

The establishment of the China-EU Partnership on Climate Changemade climate change an important and independent part of bilateral relations. Their cooperation then went beyond one-way aid and became twoway cooperation covering many fields， such as the environment， energy and a low-carbon economy.

To implement the partnership on climate change， the European Union and China drew up the China-EU Partnership on Climate Change Rolling Work Plan. According to the Plan， the European Union would strengthen its cooperation with China through project aid in the following fields：carbon capture and storage projects，clean energy， development of low-carbon technologies， raising public awareness and capability building， among others. The major projects are： the Near-Zero Emissions Coal （NZEC） project， the Clean Development Mechanism （CDM）project， climate change programs at the provincial level in China and the Clean Energy Center program， etc.6“China-EU Partnership on Climate Change Rolling Work Plan，” October 19， 2006， http：//www.fmprc. gov.cn/mfa_chn/ziliao_611306/tytj_611312/zcwj_611316/t283033.shtml.The joint Declaration on Climate Change of the EU-China Summit in 2006 pointed out： “the two sides both recognize that it's important to encourage the private sector to participate and invest to tackle climate change and provide incentives for this， and China and the EU have significant and potential economic opportunities to cooperate in this field.”7“The Joint Declaration of the 9th China-EU Summit，” September 10， 2006， http：//news.xinhuanet.com/ world/2006-09/10/content_5071191.htm.Hereafter， impelled by the market， China and Europe formed a heavily interdependent relationship in the value chain of renewable energy， which has injected long-lasting impetus into the development of their Partnership on Climate Change.

In 2010， China and Europe upgraded the dialogue mechanism undertheir Partnership on Climate Change to the ministerial level， and initiated a series of policy dialogues in related fields， including the environment， forests，energy resources， transport and sustainable urbanization， among other areas. China-EU cooperation thus began to be strategic and comprehensive. The Joint Declaration of the 12th China-EU Summit in 2012 for the first time discussed China-EU cooperation on climate change from the perspective of national development plan. According to China's Twelfth Five-Year Plan（2011-2015）， the EU's Package Program on Climate Change and Energy in 2008 and Low-Carbon Strategy for 2050， China and the European Union are determined to transform to a low-carbon and green economy， which benefits the development of their economies， and the two sides agreed on further strengthening their dialogue on domestic policies related to climate change and sharing experience about legislation on climate change.8“The Joint Press Communique of the 14th China-EU Summit，” February 14， 2012， http：//news. xinhuanet.com/politics/2012-02/14/c_111524053.htm.In the EU-China 2020 Strategic Agenda for Cooperation， the two sides further agreed on establishing strategic policies on green and low-carbon development to tackle climate change.

The adjustment made by China and the European Union of their climate change policies has contributed a lot to the establishment of their Partnership on Climate Change and the transformation of the content and forms between their cooperation. The European Union hopes to exert its leadership in the post-Kyoto international climate change negotiations through strengthening its cooperation with developing countries such as China. So the European Union has made more efforts to support EUChina cooperation policies on climate change. From the perspective of its own policies on climate change， the European Union has already formed policy frameworks on emissions cuts， renewable energy and energy efficiency. A carbon-trading system has already come into effect. Thus， the European Union hopes to output its policy model of climate change through cooperation and seeks external markets for its renewable energy products.

China has changed its thought on tackling climate change； this is alsoan important reason for the deepened cooperation between China and the European Union. The Chinese government issued the first National Program to Address Climate Change in June 2007， and came up with principles to address climate change and its goal of controlling emissions of greenhouse gases. The State Council set up a national leading group， headed by the premier. And the Chinese government also changed its view greatly on renewable energy and energy efficiency. In the past， China only tried to solve environmental pollution， but now it takes independent innovation and manufacturing capability in the fields mentioned above as its mid- to longterm developing strategy， and the development of renewable energy as an important component of its industry strategy.

The Main Fields and Current Situation of Sino-EU Cooperation against Climate Change

Since China and the European Union established their Partnership on Climate Change， a multi-field and multi-layered framework has formed that includes public awareness raising， strengthening capability and technology cooperation， experience sharing in carbon capture and storage and carbon emissions trading systems. Market actors from the two sides have increasingly close industrial， economic and trade cooperation， and they have become the essential force pushing forward the cooperation between the two sides. There are three key fields for their cooperation under the framework of China-EU Partnership on Climate Change.

1. Cooperation on a clean development mechanism

A Clean Development Mechanism （CDM） was established under the framework of the Kyoto Protocol， the additional agreement of the UNFCCC， with its aim to encourage developed countries to invest projects that cut emissions in developing countries and calculating the emissions cut by this as part of their obligations to cut emissions. In 2007 when the EUChina CDM Facilitation Project was initiated， the European Commissionprovided 2.8 million euros for the project.

The European Union is a major investor in the CDM project and the biggest buyer of the carbon credits， while China is the biggest supplier of the CDM carbon credits. In 2013， 50.59 percent of the CDM projects were registered in China， mainly in hydropower and wind power. The projects promoted by the China-EU CDM have played an important role in helping China conserve energy and cut emissions. For example， equipment from the European Union accounts for 47 percent of the CDM projects in China， mainly in renewable energy， especially in wind power and biomass energy. Purchasing carbon credits from China's CDM projects became an important way to help 15 member states of the European Union to achieve Kyoto compliance and private companies to meet the EU-Emissions Trading System （ETS） targets.9Bernice Lee， “The EU and China： Time for a Strategic Renewal？” ESPO Report n.2， p.31， http：// www.chathamhouse.org/sites/files/chathamhouse/public/Research/Energy，%20Environment%20and%20 Development/1112espreport_euchina_lee.pdf.According to Sandbag， a UK-based NGO， in 2009 most of the carbon credits （53 percent） were bought by EU companies to meet their emissions commitments.10Pietro De Matteis， “The EU's and China's Institutional Diplomacy in the Field of Climate Change，”European Union Institute for Security Studies， Occasional paper 96， May 2012， p. 19， http：//www.iss.europa. eu/uploads/media/The_EUz_and_Chinaz_institutional_diplomacy_in_the_field_of_climate_change.pdf.China-EU cooperation on CDM helped the Chinese government and companies to realize the commercial attractiveness of investment related to climate change， and also helped expand awareness of carbon emissions trading in China.

But cooperation on CDM also has two uncertainties， the first is its influence on sustainable development， the second is technology transfer. According to the EU-China CDM Facilitation Project final report，“Although CDM projects have had some success in promoting sustainable development in China， the CDM has not reached the objective of promoting sustainable development in developing countries as defined in the Kyoto Protocol. The CDM rules have not been perfected due to lack of overall coordination of the mechanism. Many stakeholders focus only on maximizing their own profit and have no interest in cooperatingin order to promote sustainable development.”11“EU-China CDM Facilitation Project， Final Report，” March 2010， p.16， http：//www.ivl.se/ download/18.3175b46c133e617730d80007636/1350484196536/A1915.pdf.With regard technology transfer， the most controversial issue is intellectual property rights protection. The European Union thinks China doesn't “provide enough protection for IPR”， so the European Union refuses to transfer the core technologies of environmentally friendly products to China， and only exports secondary products. But China thinks the EU companies overprotect their technologies， this hampers the extension and use of those technologies. The report noted that “the EU needs to recognize that it has relevant benefits in supporting technology transfer to China， not only at the business and trade levels， but also in the wider effort of mitigating the effects of climate change. There is the potential for technology transfer to provide trade benefits to European companies and to improve their competitiveness， not only in the Chinese CDM market， but also in the global market for sound environmental technologies. ”12Giulia C. Romano， “The EU-China Partnership on Climate Change： Bilateralism Begetting Multilateralism in Promoting a Climate Change Regime，” E-paper No. 8， December 2010， p. 16， http：// www.sps.ed.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/85291/E-paper_no8_r2010_The_EU-China_Partnership_ on_Climat_Change.pdf.

2. Cooperation on carbon capture and storage

Carbon capture and storage technology has great potential to help cut carbon emissions， and the application of carbon capture and storage in electricity generation would play an effective role in tackling climate change. The Near Zero Emission Coal （NZEC） cooperation between the European Union and China is an important project in the of carbon capture and storage field. The Near Zero Emission Coal cooperation is planned in three phases， that is， studying the pre-feasibility of capability building and a pilot project， studying the feasibility of the pilot project， and building and operating a pilot carbon capture and storage project in China in 2020.

In November 2006， China， the European Union signed a memorandum of understanding and initiated the first phase of their NAEC cooperationprogram. This included the China-UK NZEC cooperation project， the China-EU carbon capture and storage cooperation project and the China-EU carbon capture and storage supervision support project. In 2009，the European Commission issued a communication paper titled Carbon Capture and Geological Storage （CCS） in Emerging Developing Countries：Financing the EU-China Near Zero Emissions Coal Plant Project. By the end of 2009， the first phase of the EUChina cooperation on carbon capture and storage was completed， and on November 30， 2009， at the 12th China-EU summit，the two sides signed the Cooperation on Near Zero Emissions Coal Power Generation Technology through Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage Memorandum of Understanding and began the second phase. The second phase of the China-EU NZEC cooperation is divided into two stages， the central task in the first stage is to compare different candidate projects， then select three of them and study their feasibility， and further pick one out of the three as the candidate project for the second phase. The central task in the second phase is to provide financial and technology support for the project selected from the first phase， help enterprises with project supervision， feasibility study and project design. Now the cooperation in the first stage of the second phase is underway.

The carbon capture and storage project is still in the pilot phase and its commercialization faces uncertainties， such as the high cost， technology risks， security risks and environmental risks， so the fruit of the cooperation is still limited at present. There is the opinion that “several challenges” need to be further analyzed through research and development. These are particularly related to supplementary costs and the energy penalty of carbon capture and storage technologies， namely the increased cost of electricity if this kindof technology is deployed in power plants. Further， there exist operational uncertainties linked to the novelty of the technologies and to the lack of methodology and regulations. Finally， there is a question of the availability of equipment in China， a subject directly linked to the technology transfer problem.13Giulia C. Romano， “The EU-China Partnership on Climate Change： Bilateralism Begetting Multilateralism in Promoting a Climate Change Regime，” p. 19.

3. Clean Energy Technology and Economic and Trade Cooperation

China and the European Union both face energy and climate security challenges and both are following a similar development-transformation path， including ensuring energy security through developing renewable energy and increasing energy efficiency. The EU 2020 Strategy aims to achieve “smart， sustainable and inclusive growth，” while China's 12th Five-Year Plan also sets green， low-carbon growth as its goal. Energy security and sustainable urbanization are the strategic cooperation points that meet their common interests.

The European Union is the forerunner in the renewable energy field. Renewable power generation accounted for 13.6 percent of the European Union's electricity in 2000 and 20.4 percent in 2011； the growth rate is as high as 50 percent， of which the major increase was from wind power and solar photovoltaic power. According to the European Union's renewable energy development report in 2014， the European Union produced around 70 percent of the world's electricity generated from solar PV sources. And almost 44 percent of world's electricity generated through wind in 2010.

And in 2011， 44 percent of the global clean energy patents were filed by the 27 member states of the European Union.14“Renewables： Energy and Equipment Trade Developments in the EU，” p. 94， http：//ec.europa.eu/ economy_finance/publications/european_economy/2014/pdf/ee1_3_en.pdf.Compared with the European Union， China is the fastest developing country with the greatest market potential. Between 2001 and 2011， China produced 18.6 percentof the world's electricity generation through renewable energy， ranking first in the world. And according to the United Nations Environment Program's（UNEP） annual Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment report in 2014， China was by far the biggest investor. It pumped a record €89.5 billion into projects， up 39 percent on the year before.15“Europe Trailing behind in Global Renewables Rebound，” March 31， 2015， http：//www.euractiv.com/ sections/energy/europe-trailing-behind-global-renewables-rebound-313417.

In May 2009， the Joint Declaration on the EU-China Clean Energy Center was signed during the 11th China-EU Summit. The major function of this center is to promote technology transfer and exchange between China and the European Union， covering clean coal， renewable energy and low-energy construction and smart power grids， etc.16“The Europe-China Clean Energy Centre （EC2） launched in Beijing，” April 30， 2010， http：//www. sinoitaenvironment.org/ReadNewsex1.asp？NewsID=9313.In the meantime，the European Union has provided subsidies to support the development of the photovoltaic industry. Chinese companies made full use of European technologies， the EU market and capital and so developed fast. According to statistics， by the end of 2009， China had imported about 30，000 technologies from the European Union， among which technologies related to wind power， solar photovoltaic power and nuclear power accounted for a large part.17“China-EU clean energy center initiated in Beijing，” April 30， 2010 http：//news.xinhuanet.com/2010-04/30/c_1266167.htmThe European Union is the major market for solar and wind components made by China， In 2012， 75 percent of the imports of solar components by the European Union's 27 member states and 40 percent of the wind power components came from China.18“Renewables： Energy and Equipment Trade Developments in the EU，” pp. 102-103.The Chinese photovoltaic industry both “imports and also exports a lot.” Among its exports， 32.06 percent is general trade and 64.7 percent is processing trade， China mainly imports raw materials and relevant equipment from the European Union. China and the European Union have already become interdependent in the photovoltaic industry. So when the photovoltaic product trade friction between China and the EU happened， 18 member states of the European Union opposed taking trade remedy measures against China， and over 1，000photovoltaic companies submitted a collective petition to the European Commission， demanding them not impose punitive tariffs on Chinese photovoltaic companies. A study for the Alliance for Affordable Solar Energy（AFASE） says that European Union tariffs on solar panels from China could lead to 242，000 European job losses in the next three years.19“Study Claims Solar Panel Tariffs Could Trigger 242000 Job Losses，” February 21， 2013， http：//www. euractiv.com/energy/dubious-study-claims-solar-panel-news-517967.

Larger Common Grounds for China and the EU in International Climate Negotiations

China is the largest developing country and the European Union is the largest community of developed countries， their conflicts and compromises on climate change issues thus have a big influence on the international mechanism governing climate change. Although the two sides disagree more than they agree the in international climate change negotiations because of their different development stages， in the context of a changed international emissions structure and domestic policies， their divergences are shrinking and the common ground between them is expanding. China and the European Union are becoming key actors in building the international climate change unified framework. It could be argued that the European Union and China are two of the players that have most contributed to the development of the climate change regime， that have mostly benefited from its coming into being， and that have most to lose from the current uncertainties regarding the future of the regime.20Pietro De Matteis， “The EU's and China's Institutional Diplomacy in the Field of Climate Change，”p. 11.

1. The key role of China and the European Union in the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol

European countries have paid attention to energy and environment issues for a long time. With the completion of environmental protectionlegislation and the development of green technology， a benign interaction among governments， environmental protection NGOs and companies has already formed， which has laid a solid foundation for its leadership in international climate change negotiations. The UNFCCC stipulates that developed and developing countries have different obligations to cut emissions， with developed countries first taking actions to cut emissions and to decrease the greenhouse gases level to that in 1990. To support the implementation of the convention and shoulder “common but differentiated responsibilities （hereinafter referred as CBDR），” the European Union has actively led and advanced international climate negotiations， and the European Union was the first to put forward a emissions cutting goal for greenhouse gases. International climate negotiations were held in Kyoto in 1997， the European Union not only played a significant role in agenda-setting， but also made achieving a binding agreement to cut greenhouse gases emissions as its primary goal，and played a leadership role by setting a clear goal and taking actions first. The 15 member states of European Union promised in the Kyoto Protocol that between 2008 and 2012， they would cut their emissions by 8 percent of the level in 1990， this was the highest percentage among the countries that signed the Kyoto Protocol （See Appendix B）.21European Environment Agency， “Council Decision （2002/358/EC） of 25 April 2002 concerning the approval， on behalf of the European Community， of the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the joint fulfillment of commitments thereunder，” http：//europa.eu/ legislation_summaries/environment/tackling_climate_change/l28060_en.htm.

China， meanwhile， is the staunchest defender of developing countries' interests in the climate change negotiations. Thanks to China， the principle of CBDR was included in the UN climate change discourse， and has since significantly influenced further international climate negotiations.22Pietro De Matteis， “The EU's and China's Institutional Diplomacy in the Field of Climate Change，”p. 15.Duringthe negotiations for the Kyoto Protocol， although China and the European Union represent different interests， compared with the divergences between China and the United States， China and the European Union shared a rather close position on the issue of “the developed countries take the lead in emission cutting and the developing countries follow voluntary commitment.”23Fu Cong， “Sino-EU Relations in the Context of Global Climate Governance，” Blue Book on Sino-EU Relations： The Research Report on Sino-EU Relations， Beijing： Social Sciences Academic Press， 2012，p154.In 2001， the US dropped out of the Kyoto Protocol and other countries in the Umbrella Group stepped backward. To save the Protocol， the European Union mediated between the Umbrella Group and developing countries. In February 2005， the Kyoto Protocol came into effect， which was is a milestone not only for the international climate change mechanisms， but also for the European Union's diplomacy.24Pietro De Matteis， “The EU's and China's Institutional Diplomacy in the Field of Climate Change，”p. 13.

2. The “Post-Kyoto” Agenda negotiation and the expansion of China-EU common ground

After the Kyoto Protocol took effect， the European Union began to advocate other countries cut their emissions. In January 2005， the European Commission came up with a post-Kyoto negotiation strategy， whose main goal is to have “wider international participation”， and pointed out that the developing countries' emissions accounted for over 50 percent of the world's emissions.25European Commission， “Climate Change Cooperation with Non-EU Countries，” http：//ec.europa.eu/ clima/policies/international/cooperation/index_en.htm.In October 2008， the European Union's environment council called on developing countries which were relatively more developed to decrease their emissions by 15 to 30 percent of the level in 1990. Thus，strengthening coordination in international climate negotiation is also an important part of the EU-China Partnership on Climate Change.

Under the framework of their Partnership on Climate Change，China and the European Union have achieved consensus on the post-Kyoto arrangement. The joint declaration of the 10th China-EU summitin 2007 stated， “According to the principle of CBDR and our respective capabilities， we will work together to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system.”26European Commission， “Climate Change Cooperation with Non-EU Countries，” http：//ec.europa.eu/ clima/policies/international/cooperation/index_en.htm.Although China and the European Union share common ideas on the two key issues of “developed countries take the lead on cutting emissions” and a “dual-track negotiation mechanism”， the two sides had sharp conflicts on rights and responsibilities in the climate negotiations in Copenhagen， which shows differences still exit in their interests and positions towards the post-Kyoto arrangement. However， the climate negotiations in Copenhagen were a turning point in EU-China cooperation， the conflicts among the countries grew and the European Union was marginalized， which encouraged China and the European Union to continue to seek pragmatic cooperation.

China's position in the international climate negotiations is increasingly flexible. Transformation towards a low-carbon economy is irreversible， and the long-existing South-North climate negotiation structure is being broken. As the largest emitter of greenhouse gases， China is facing huge pressure. To respond to the changed environment， China is gradually adjusting its position in the climate negotiations， and now is more open on the following issues， such as its commitment to emissions cuts， a new global agreement on emissions cuts that are measurable， reportable and verifiable， financial aid from the developed countries， and carbon discharges peak value，among other things. At the Cancun Conference in 2010， China showed its willingness to participate in international negotiations and analysis， and submit to more formal “commitment and censorship.” In the second week of the Durban Conference， China released the signal that it will consider a new global emissions cut agreement， which gave new incentive to continue the hard negotiations. And at the Lima Climate Conference in 2014， China declared that its carbon emissions would peak in 2030. Aside from that，China also said it would not compete with less developed countries forfinancial and technology assistance.27These information is collected from the convention progress section on China climate change website，refer to http：//www.ccchina.gov.cn/list.aspx？clmId=61.

After the failure of the Copenhagen climate negotiations， the European Union also realized the urgency to strengthen dialogue and cooperation with developing countries. During the Cancun Conference， Japan， Canada and Australia refused to sign up to a second period of the Kyoto Protocol. To break up the deadlock， the European Union stood with over 140 developing countries and supported a second commitment period， which isolated the US， Japan and Australia. At the Doha Conference in 2012， the European Union came up with the goal of giving the Green Climate Fund $100 billion before 2020. The US didn't promise even a dollar.28“Doha Conference achieved agreement through difficulties， key issues rely on future negotiation”，Xinhua Net， October 10， 2012， http：//world.xinhua08.com/a/20121210/1082484.shtml？f=arelated.The European Union has a good reputation among the developing countries for its leadership in providing financial aid.

Conclusion

The EU-China Partnership on Climate Change has been established for 10 years， although it has experienced frictions and conflicts， they have similar transformation strategies and economic and energy interdependence. The increasingly mature crisis management mechanism enables the areas of cooperation to be expanded， which gives further impetus for strengthening cooperation. At the 17th EU-China summit in 2015， the two sides released the China-EU Joint Declaration on Climate Change， saying that “they will further carry the Partnership on Climate Change forward and join hands to make the 2015 Paris Climate Conference an ambitious and binding agreement on the foundation of last 10 years' successful cooperation.”29People's Network： “China-EU joint declaration on climate change”， June 30， 2015，http：//politics.people.com.cn/n/2015/0630/c70731-27227445.html.This shows their political will to further strengthen bilateral and international cooperation.

The China-EU Joint Declaration on Climate Change outlines thefuture cooperation priorities. This are to propel economic growth and strengthen their cooperation in realizing a low-carbon economy that is of low cost but brings high benefits； to strengthen policy dialogue on resources conservation， green and low carbon， climate-adaptive economies and the transformation of society； to establish a low-carbon city partnership， deepen cooperation on carbon market and carbon trade and strengthen international coordination， etc. To cooperate effectively， the two sides need to draw from the past 20 years' experience and lessons， especially handle their competition in economic cooperation related to renewable energy， and strike a balance between economic interests and environmental sustainability.

At the oncoming Paris Climate Summit， China and the European Union's positions will still differ， but the total opposition that appeared in Copenhagen is unlikely to happen again. However， neither side is too optimistic about the Paris Climate Conference because of the four difficult issues left by Lima Climate Summit. First， how will the CBDR principle be embodied in post-2020 agreement that is due to be signed at this summit？Second， will each country deliver their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions （INDC） on time or not （and is it necessary to evaluate this before the Paris summit）.Third， the problem of where the money is going to come from. And finally， developed countries and developing countries have big divergences on the issue of technology transfer.30“Xie Zhenghua： Four major divergences left by the Lima Climate Conference，” December 12， 2014，http：//www.ccchina.gov.cn/Detail.aspx？newsId=50042&TId=61.Although these problems exist， China and the European Union can seek more consensuses under the framework of their Partnership on Climate Change， and lead and carry forward the international climate change negotiations. In addition， the EU-China 2020 Strategic Agenda for Cooperation came up with the idea to “help the world transform to a low-carbon economy，” which increases the possibility of other parities joining China and the European Union's cooperation on climate change and becoming a new element for their cooperation.

Jin Ling is Associate Research Fellow at the Department for European Studies， China Institute of International Studies.