China and the EU could lead the low carbon economy

“Changing Climates: Interdependencies on Energy and Climate Security for China and Europe” , a report from Chatham House published today, suggests that by working together, the EU and China could lead the low carbon economy. China and the EU together account for 30% of both global energy consumption and global emissions, with both facing similar challenges to energy and climate security.

The report offers a number of options to assist policy makers in mapping the future of a low carbon economy, including:

• the formation of a joint consultative committee to define aggressive standards for energy efficiency and low carbon goods to drive progress in both markets
• pioneering sectoral approaches to climate change
• establishing a high level joint commission on renewables to address bottlenecks and advance progress towards renewables targets
• Increasing energy efficiency and low carbon technology co-operation, with suggestions around combining EU and Chinese public R&D budgets in strategic areas and the creation of an EU-China climate technologies prize fund.