China News Agency, Haikou, July 18th: How can blue carbon international cooperation provide new impetus for addressing global climate change?
——Interview with Wang Sheng, President of the South China Sea Research Institute
China News Agency reporter Yang Xu Yin Haiming Wang Ziqian
Coping with climate change and achieving sustainable development are urgent tasks facing the international community.
At present, international blue carbon cooperation has been advancing from the stage of scientific research to the direction of inclusion in international climate governance.
Why is blue carbon international cooperation imminent?
Where is the entry point for China to participate in global blue carbon governance?
As both coastal countries in the South China Sea, what positive effects will the blue carbon cooperation between China and ASEAN countries bring?
Wang Sheng, president of the China South China Sea Research Institute, recently accepted an exclusive interview with China News Agency's "East and West Questions".
The following is a summary of the interview transcript:
China News Agency reporter: As an emerging field, where is the necessity and urgency of blue carbon international cooperation?
Wang Sheng:
International cooperation on blue carbon is an important way to deal with global climate change.
From a global perspective, it is mainly to deal with the global warming trend.
As the world heats up, climate risks are getting higher and higher.
In 2015, countries signed the "Paris Agreement" at the United Nations Climate Change Conference, which stipulates that the nationally determined contribution should be immediately specified to mitigate climate change, carbon emissions should peak as soon as possible, and carbon neutrality should be achieved in the second half of the 21st century.
To achieve the goal of carbon neutrality, we must reduce emissions and increase sinks, promote blue carbon development, and especially promote blue carbon international cooperation.
From the perspective of domestic development, China announced to the world in September 2020 that it will strive to achieve carbon peaking by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060.
China must make a solemn commitment to fulfilling the "dual carbon" goal to the world, and promote the development of its own industries in the direction of low carbon or even zero carbon.
China is moving from a big ocean country to a powerful ocean country, and promoting international cooperation on blue carbon will promote the high-quality transformation and development of the ocean industry.
China News Service: China and ASEAN countries are both facing the challenge of climate change. How should we carry out international blue carbon cooperation?
Wang Sheng:
In response to the trend of global warming, China has proposed a "dual carbon" goal, and many countries in Southeast Asia have also announced a timetable and roadmap for carbon neutrality.
China and ASEAN countries have broad space for cooperation in addressing climate change.
The South China Sea is the common homeland of the coastal countries in the region. Using the carbon sink resources of the South China Sea to actively respond to climate change is an important part of the cooperation between China and ASEAN countries.
In my opinion, the blue carbon international cooperation between China and ASEAN can be carried out from the following aspects:
The first is to raise awareness of jointly addressing climate change and strengthening blue carbon cooperation.
We can fully rely on the existing international exchange platform system such as the Boao Forum for Asia "Dialogue with Hainan", set up blue carbon cooperation issues, strengthen academic discussions, and promote exchanges and cooperation between China and ASEAN countries.
Establish a blue carbon academic exchange, technology and equipment display, and project release mechanism, and discuss new ideas, new models, and new formats for future blue carbon development in the form of international conferences, forums, and exhibitions.
Promote the think tanks of the two sides to jointly build a blue carbon pragmatic exchange and cooperation platform, increase blue carbon science publicity, set up related academic topics, and jointly enhance the blue carbon cooperation awareness of Hainan and Southeast Asian people.
Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2022 "Dialogue with Hainan" sub-forum.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Luo Yunfei
The second is to work together to enhance the voice in addressing global climate change.
China is the largest developing country in the world, and ASEAN is the fifth largest economy in the world and is developing rapidly.
China and ASEAN countries should join hands to promote equal expression of concerns in the process of global climate governance and ocean governance, jointly establish a cooperation mechanism, formulate joint action plans, and implement maritime pragmatic cooperation projects.
Strive to promote the demands of China and ASEAN countries to achieve security and development through the development of blue carbon, and gain understanding and support from the international community.
The third is to actively participate in the construction of the international blue carbon market mechanism, and use blue carbon resources to enhance its bargaining power in the carbon market.
The construction of the global blue carbon trading market is still in its infancy. China and ASEAN countries should take advantage of their own blue carbon resources to actively participate in the specific steps and strategic framework of the construction of the global blue carbon trading market, and strive to improve their discourse in the global blue carbon market. power and bargaining power.
The "Blue Carbon Initiative" international conference staff inspected China's marine ecological environment.
Photo by Yang Zhili issued by China News Agency
China News Service: What positive effect does the blue carbon cooperation between China and ASEAN have on deepening cooperation in the South China Sea?
Wang Sheng:
Blue carbon cooperation may become a model for promoting cooperation in low-sensitivity areas in the South China Sea.
Blue carbon is a low-sensitive environmental and climate change issue and tends to be included in the international climate change governance system.
ASEAN countries are one of the regions most deeply affected by climate change. The South China Sea is the region with the most abundant “blue carbon” resources in the world. The mangrove areas of the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and other countries are among the highest in the world. ASEAN countries have great potential for cooperation in the blue carbon field. If effective cooperation can be promoted, it will become a model for cooperation in low-sensitive areas in the South China Sea.
Promoting blue carbon industry cooperation with countries around the South China Sea can effectively build consensus on South China Sea cooperation.
Taking carbon sink fishery as an example, this is a potentially promising future cooperation industry between China and ASEAN countries in the South China Sea.
The fishing industry is an important pillar industry in many Southeast Asian countries. "Carbon sequestration fishery" can not only "reduce emissions and increase sinks", but also reduce illegal fishing in the South China Sea by South China Sea littoral countries and avoid fisheries disputes and conflicts.
The South China Sea has entered the fishing moratorium in the busy season, and a large number of fishing boats at Haikou Xingang Wharf have returned to the port to berth.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Luo Yunfei
China News Service: What space for cooperation does China and ASEAN have in the field of blue carbon environmental protection? What aspects can become a breakthrough for cooperation?
Wang Sheng:
The two sides can strengthen cooperation in the field of blue carbon environmental restoration.
China and ASEAN can strengthen cooperation in protecting marine biodiversity, restoring coral reefs, mangroves, seagrass beds, coastal estuaries, coastal sand dunes, and strengthening monitoring and research on related wetland ecosystems, and actively protect their own advantages in blue carbon resources. Increase carbon sinks.
Seaside mangroves in Longwan, Qionghai City, Hainan Province.
Photo by China News Agency Meng Zhongde
In addition, it can also promote cooperation in the field of offshore new energy industries.
In September 2021, China announced that it would not build new coal power projects overseas.
Many ASEAN countries are rich in offshore energy, and can actively use offshore wind energy, ocean temperature difference energy, ocean wave energy, ocean tidal current energy, etc. to build a "blue" energy system, which is conducive to ensuring their own life and production safety.
China News Service reporter: Blue carbon is still in its infancy in various countries. How can China strengthen international cooperation in scientific research, industry, talents and other fields?
Wang Sheng:
First, strengthen research cooperation on blue carbon technologies, policies and rules.
Integrate domestic high-quality academic resources, strengthen multi-disciplinary collaborative research and cooperation with relevant domestic and foreign think tanks and scientific research institutions, accelerate the definition of blue carbon assessment, monitoring, and calculation standards, improve blue carbon protection laws and regulations, and clarify the scope and target of blue carbon trading.
Accelerate the formulation of ocean carbon sink models and standard systems that can be promoted globally.
The second is to closely follow and participate in various "Blue Carbon Initiatives" and related working groups initiated by relevant international organizations as appropriate.
Encourage domestic sea-related think tanks and scientific research institutions to actively strengthen multi-level exchanges and cooperation with international organizations and relevant research institutions.
In particular, blue carbon cooperation with ASEAN countries should be strengthened, a cross-border scientific research cooperation team between China and ASEAN countries should be established, and blue carbon demonstration cooperation projects should be supported.
The third is to explore the cooperation of blue carbon sink increase demonstration projects.
Learn from advanced technologies and models at home and abroad, and actively plan blue carbon demonstration projects such as coastal wetland and mangrove sink increase, ecological fishery culture sink sink increase, marine microbial sink sink increase, shellfish algae carbon sequestration, and marine carbon neutralization demonstration projects.
Actively explore the "spillover" effect brought by the development of blue carbon sink enhancement projects, and effectively promote the development of new marine industries such as marine ecotourism, marine leisure fishery, blue carbon technical services, and blue carbon finance.
(Finish)
Interviewee Profile:
Wang Sheng, Dean of the South China Sea Research Institute, has devoted himself to the study of foreign affairs and South China Sea issues for more than 20 years. More than 100 academic papers and more than 10 monographs, such as "Security and Cooperation in the Development of the South China Sea" and "Hainan Serving the Peripheral Diplomacy".