COP24
16:36, 15-Dec-2018
Chinese representative at COP24: 'Everyone compromising' is the best possible result
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16:01, 18-Dec-2018
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In general, the aim of any discussion is to get everyone sitting at the table satisfied.
But the Chinese representative at the COP24 climate conference said not pleasing everyone is "the best result."
"No one's satisfied. Everyone compromises. This is the best we can get from COP24," Xie Zhenhua, head of the Chinese delegation at COP24, explained.
To save humanity from rising temperatures, we must limit the amount of carbon dioxide we produce.
But low emissions mean less fossil fuel consumption, which will hurt the economy and people's livelihood. That's why we will not be satisfied overall.
The problem goes further at COP24 where nations around the world come together to decide how much carbon each country is allowed to emit, thus indirectly limiting how much development a country can achieve in the near future.
Obviously no country wants to back down. Every government fights to cut the largest piece from the cake.
Most of the developed nations have failed to meet their emission targets, CCPI findings reveal. /Germanwatch Graphics
Most of the developed nations have failed to meet their emission targets, CCPI findings reveal. /Germanwatch Graphics
But according to the philosophy of the Chinese representatives, fighting leads to nowhere. Compromise is the way to achieve balance between countries.
"That's what we call zhongyong," said Xie, referring to a Chinese philosophical term similar to the "golden mean" in ancient Greek theories.
China is one of the largest advocates for green development. The country met its goals on carbon intensity reduction three years ahead of schedule, and has recently built the world's largest carbon trading scheme.
Despite the efforts of developing countries, the G20 nations have not been performing well in recent years, as data from Germanwatch revealed at COP24.