Parties to COP29 should focus on matter at hand

The 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, or COP29, kicked off in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Nov 11. But the negotiations in the 12-day conference, which aims at seeking a new climate change funding goal to replace the existing collective target of mobilizing and providing $100 billion annually by developed countries in support of developing countries, are still at a technical level after a week.

Some countries believe that China should become a contributor to the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance. But this is nothing but a deliberate diversion by some developed countries to mislead the negotiations.

The common position of China and the Group of 77 is clear, which is that developed countries should propose new financial assistance targets in the NCQG, which is stipulated in the Paris Agreement, according to which developing countries can provide some financial support in light of their capabilities.

As a developing country, China cannot participate in the NCQG, which should be the responsibility of developed countries, though it will continue to provide assistance to other developing countries through various South-South cooperation channels.

It should be borne in mind that it is China's hub position in the global industry and supply chains that has greatly increased its emissions, considerable amounts of which are actually generated when producing products and providing services for the developed markets. The latter enjoy cost-effective products and services, but the emissions cost is not actually reflected in the price.

Despite this, China has never given up its efforts to reduce its emissions. The country has built the world's largest and most complete new energy industry chain, and its total installed capacity of wind power and solar power generation has achieved the goals promised to the international community more than six years ahead of schedule. China's industrial structure has been continuously optimized and upgraded, and it has built the world's largest and most complete new energy industry chain. For instance, green buildings now account for more than 90 percent of China's new buildings; the annual output of new energy vehicles in the country has exceeded 10 million this year; and China's main resource output rate has increased by about 60 percent in the past decade.

COP29 is being held under the shadow of serious global geopolitical division and confrontation. In particular, some European Union member states worry about whether the next United States administration will participate in implementing the NCQG if it is fixed this time. That increases the difficulty and uncertainties in the negotiations.

In addition, a few European countries have had some disputes due to differences with the Azerbaijani government over some geopolitical issues. That has also created a bad atmosphere for this meeting. The EU members should regard COP29 as a conference of the 198 parties to the UNFCCC, not a meeting of the host country, and climate issues should not be politicized. It is thus hoped that parties can put aside political disputes and concentrate on the negotiations in the remaining few days of the meeting.

In the next round of negotiations, all parties should reduce the form and add the content, so that the outcome of the negotiations will be concise and to the point, having substantive content that can produce results.