Senior officials presented the European Commission’s proposal for the EU long term strategy towards a vision for climate neutrality by 2050, in a meeting held by the Tsinghua University Institute for Climate Change and Sustainable Development and the EU delegation to China on Jan. 15.

During his opening speech, Professor He Jiankun, Chairman of the Academic Committee of the Institute of Climate Change and Sustainable Development, said “the European strategic long term vision sets a role model for other countries and provides valuable references and experiences to learn from. I praise the EU for taking the lead in the global climate governance.”

The event focused on ways to set Europe and China on the path to low carbon development, and saw many leading Chinese and European experts share insights and discuss long term strategies, focusing on crucial areas such as energy, transport, industry and the role of land and agriculture.

China and the EU are important partners in the fight against climate change, and both have made significant efforts to strengthen cooperation and push forward in this area over recent years. For example, in 2017, China met its 2020 carbon intensity level targets three years ahead of schedule.

Megan Richards, the EU's Director of Energy Policy, explained that the EU is keen to share its approach and engage with countries such as China.

“The clean energy transition is essential to tackling climate change and putting our economies on more sustainable paths,” she said, adding, “We can work together with China on making the de-carbonization pathways a reality.”