Xie Zhenhua (CNS/Fu Tian)

Xie Zhenhua, China's chief negotiator at the Paris Agreement and UN climate change conferences will be given a HK$20 million under the Lui Che Woo Prize for his efforts to tackle climate change.

The former head of the State Environmental Protection Administration and vice minister of the National Development and Reform Commission is an international celebrity in the fields of environmental protection and climate change.

Xie has been at the forefront of international climate negotiations since 2007, when he led the Chinese delegation during climate talks in Bali.

To promote an acceptable agreement among all parties and fight for the interests of the developing countries, Xie worked very hard at each conference of the parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

For instance, in Copenhagen and Durban, Xie criticized the developed countries, saying they were not entitled to ask the developing countries to do more because they have not fulfilled their due responsibilities.

"Apart from eliminating domestic poverty and protecting the environment, the developing countries have fulfilled their commitments. The developed countries have not and so are not entitled to tell us what to do," Xie said.

After rounds of negotiations, the Paris Agreement was achieved in 2015.

"Xie and his team have played a key role in making major breakthroughs through multilateralism. They've also demonstrated the leadership of Chinese environmental diplomats," said Li Yan of Greenpeace.

Xie has made several statements after the U.S. decided to back out of the global climate change pact, saying, "China will continue to fight against climate change and will shoulder 100% of its responsibilities."

To prepare for the climate change negations, Xie and his team worked around the clock as soon as they arrived in a host city. In Copenhagen, Xie slept only two hours in the last three days before the conference kicked off.

"Xie is not only a major contributor to the Paris Agreement, but also a pioneer of global sustainable development. He has made unremitting efforts to the construction of an ecological civilization and a community of common destiny for all mankind," said Li Junfeng, director of China's National Climate Change Strategy Research and International Cooperation Center.

"It is hard to find another environment envoy like Xie, who has devoted 35 years of his life to guiding energy conservation and emission reduction, developing a circular economy, and tackling climate change," said Wang Yi, deputy director-general of the Institute of Policy and Management at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and standing committee member of the National People's Congress of China.

Christiana Figueres, former executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, said China's effective measures to cut emissions have set a good example for other countries.

Xie said the prize is encouragement for him, his team, and his country, saying it will drive his team to achieve more results in the future.