China as a major actor in climate policy

The international community is currently holding its 25^th Conference of Parties in Madrid to negotiate climate protection targets and measures. As the largest emitter of greenhouse gases, China is a major player in the discussions on how to achieve effective action for climate protection. One day before the China Renewable Energy Outlook 2019 was presented in Madrid on December 12, China’s role in climate policy was the topic at a MERICS Lunch talk.

The panel included Carolin Schenuit (Team Leader for System and Market Integration of Renewable Energies at the German Energy Agency, dena) and Lars Møllenbach Bregnbæk, partner at Ea Energy Analyses (Ea). Both were also involved in drafting the outlook together with the Chinese think tank China National Renewable Energy Center (CNREC). Nis Grünberg, analyst at MERICS and an expert on state-owned-enterprise reform in the energy sector, completed the panel. They discussed the challenges faced by China in its energy transition and ways in which China can meet its obligations under the Paris Agreement.

The discussion was prefaced by a presentation of the China Renewable Energy Outlook 2019 by Carolin Schenuit. Kerstin Lohse-Friedrich, Director of Communications at MERICS, moderated the event. Listen to an edited version of the discussion in the MERICS experts podcast-