China urges developed countries to fulfill climate finance commitments at G20 meetings

China has urged developed countries to expedite the implementation of their climate finance commitments, helping developing countries in climate actions with financial and technological assistance. The stance was made during G20 meetings, held on Wednesday and Thursday, aimed at enhancing technical and capacity-building support for developing countries.

During the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting under the 2024 G20 Brazilian presidency in Washington DC, China's Finance Minister Lan Fo'an called for all parties to adhere to the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities in climate actions, asking developed countries to implement their climate finance commitments, according to the website of China's Ministry of Finance.

Lan emphasized China's commitment to refining policies and standards that support green development, including fiscal, financial, investment and pricing systems. 

"These initiatives are designed to accelerate the transition toward a low-carbon economy by fostering investment in green technologies and have achieved significant progress," said Lan.

Although developed countries have made commitments regarding green transformation and climate finance, the actual funds mobilized fall short of the needs of developing countries, slowing down global green transition efforts, Wang Peng, an associate research fellow at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Sunday.

The UN Environment Programme's 2023 Adaptation Gap Report, released in November 2023, revealed a significant shortfall in adaptation finance needs of developing countries, estimated at between $215 billion to $387 billion annually. In contrast, only $21 billion in public multilateral and bilateral adaptation finance flowed to developing countries in 2021, a 15 percent decrease from the previous year, resulting in a funding gap ranging from $194 billion to $366 billion.

"Developed countries often cite intellectual property protection as a reason to restrict the transfer of green technologies to developing nations. This practice not only hampers the development and application of global green technologies but also affects cooperative efforts to tackle climate change," Wang noted.

In contrast, China actively participates in international exchanges and cooperation on green technologies, promoting the international exchanges and transfer of these technologies through initiatives, such as the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative. 

China encourages innovation and the protection of intellectual property rights while also promoting the dissemination of technology to achieve common global green development goals, Wang stressed.

On Friday, at the 109th meeting of the World Bank's Development Committee, Lan highlighted the need for the World Bank to implement counter-cyclical adjustment measures in expanding project investments to stimulate effective demand. He called for the promotion of trade and investment liberalization and the maintenance of open and stable global supply chains to aid the global economic recovery.

Lan noted that China is driving high-quality development, advancing the green transformation and new productive forces. The country is confident in its capability to achieve the projected GDP growth rate of 5 percent for 2024, underpinned by strong economic resilience, potential and vitality.

Furthermore, Pan Gongsheng, governor of the People's Bank of China (PBC), the country's central bank, stressed the benefits of a more open and inclusive multilateral trade system for stabilizing global cross-border capital flows during his address at the G20 meeting, according to the PBC's official website. 

Pan also noted significant progress in advancing green finance, pledging continued collaboration on key initiatives.

China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology reported a robust increase in the country's green supply capacity, with significant improvements in the provision of green equipment and products. In the first quarter of 2024, the production of new-energy vehicles (NEVs) in China reached 2.115 million units, up 28.2 percent year-on-year, with sales reaching 2.09 million units, up 31.8 percent. Sales of NEVs accounted for 31.1 percent of China's car market.