TEXT | CCG Secretary-General delivers a speech on global governance at Rome Roundtable
June 16 , 2024From June 16-20, 2024 the Rome Roundtable, hosted by The Global Foundation, was held at the Rome campus of Australian Catholic University (ACU). During “The story so far and ambitions for the future” session, Mabel Lu Miao, Secretary-General of the Center for China and Globalization (CCG), shared some of the highlights of discussions during the Beijing Roundtable of The Global Foundation at the 10th China and Globalization Forum.
This session was moderated by Mr. Steve Howard, Secretary General of The Global Foundation. He mentioned that The Global Foundation was honored to participate in the 10th China and Globalization Forum hosted by CCG several weeks prior, emphasizing the event’s significance. CCG, founded jointly by Dr. Henry Huiyao Wang and Dr. Mabel Lu Miao, is an imortant think tank in China, representing a global organization of considerable influence. The fact that such crucial global discussions on topics including the war in Ukraine, global affairs, and the Middle East were held in China was indeed remarkable. Looking forward, he expressed his hope for further exchanges and collaborations with CCG on current hot-button issues.
The following are some of the key points that Dr. Mabel Lu Miao shared from Beijing Roundtable of the Global Foundation:
A. The need for China’s central involvement
The fact that such a high calibre global dialogue was convened in China is significant. Indeed, a common thread during the roundtable discussion was that action on climate change and the preservation of nature would not be effective without China’s central involvement. This point can be extended to Asia more broadly. Asia is responsible for 50% of emissions, and therefore, as Erik Berglof, Chief Economist of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank said, “this fight will be won or lost in Asia.”
Roundtable contributors shared several examples of China’s leadership in environmental action, including becoming a global leader in electric vehicles and being the first government to develop top-down green finance guidelines.
B. Nature and climate shouldn’t be separated
In discussing climate change, we must not forget that the actions of humanity are also harming nature. We are facing a ‘triple threat’ of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss.
Participants discussed the necessity of reforming the global financial system to place monetary value on nature, incentivising investment in its preservation. For example, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has recently launched a report on the concept of ‘nature as infrastructure’.
Similarly, UNDP China is working with countries on the next generation of nationally determined contributions (NDCs) that go beyond climate change and include biodiversity, bringing together climate and nature into an inclusive transition that leaves no one behind.
It was also noted that nature can help humanity address the climate crisis, for example in capturing carbon.
C. The need to maintain free and open trade so green technology is internationally available
Different nations possess different levels of technology, research capabilities, and financial resources. Yet, climate change does not respect the boundaries of nation states; progress in one region of the world can be offset by continued reliance on coal and other unsustainable practices in other regions. In other words, “we don’t win unless we all win.”
International collaboration and communication are crucial, and access to green finance for green technologies must be shared between the developed world and emerging economies, for the benefit of humanity. Financial institutions need to be reformed so that addressing climate change does not create unmanageable debt burdens for countries of the Global South. No country should have to choose between development and climate.
D. The need for better data, measuring, and consistent international taxonomies of what is green
A business needs to measure, and it needs to be confident in what it’s measuring. Agreeing on methods and standards that are internationally consistent and transparent will be key to engaging global industries in the energy transition and activities that benefit nature. Green finance products are most useful when there are a set of internationally recognised definitions of what economic activities are ‘green.’ Participants raised the Common Ground Taxonomy agreed upon by China and the European Union, and soon Singapore, as a positive example of international cooperation in this area.
E.Need to rethink mindset, to put sustainability at front of international cooperation
Climate change and the preservation of nature are no longer simply questions of science, but of politics, economics, and what we value as global society. Creating a sustainable future for humanity doesn’t just require technical solutions, but a shift in mindset.
The US, for example, recently put a 100% tariff on Chinese electric vehicles, highlighting that geopolitical rivalries are still being prioritised over the global common good.
There is an urgent need to re-think and re-make globalisation, that is fair and just, inclusive, as well as prosperous. This re-thinking needs to apply to all societies. Roundtable participants suggested that sustainability – and therefore collaboration and cooperation – should instead be placed front and centre of internationalism and new, green ‘globalisation’.
F. Finance for adaptation
Several participants highlighted that a certain level of climate change is already “locked in.” Mobilising finance for adaptation and resilience, as well as mitigation, is therefore greatly important. This should include finance for creating resilient social services, like health and education systems, that can continue during extreme weather. This will help to reduce the impact of climate change on vulnerable populations, including children.
