The Role of the European Union and China in Global Climate Change Negotiations: A Critical Analysis

Although climate change is a truly global issue, for the purposes of this article only two main players in the global climate change negotiations will be analyzed: the European Union (EU) and China. Each one of them is geographically and socially diverse, which is taken into account when analyzing them. China and the EU are the world’s first and third largest emitters of CO2 respectively in absolute terms, and the EU has some of the strongest domestic support to address the climate change challenge. In the bilateral relations between China and the EU, climate change is an important part of the agenda. Both parties are keen to improve the climate situation globally. The article first analyzes the Chinese position in climate negotiations. It then deals with the EU’s position by analyzing the EU’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions cuts and emissions trading scheme.