Enviro News Asia, Brussels – The European Union and China reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening cooperation on key global environmental challenges at the 11th EU-China Environment Policy Dialogue in Brussels, ahead of major international meetings later this year.
The high-level talks were co-chaired by European Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy Jessika Roswall and China’s Minister for Ecology and Environment Huang Runqiu, and were aimed at deepening environmental engagement and coordinating positions ahead of upcoming milestones including CBD COP17 in Armenia and the resumption of negotiations on a Global Plastics Treaty.
Both sides reiterated their shared responsibility to address the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution.
“In the current geopolitical context, effective diplomacy is more important than ever. The EU and China must continue to work together to finalize the negotiations on a global treaty to end plastic pollution, to implement our shared commitments on biodiversity, and to strengthen environmental multilateralism,” Commissioner Roswall said.
On biodiversity and nature finance, discussions focused on implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and preparations for CBD COP17, with both sides reviewing progress on nature protection and restoration and identifying areas where implementation needs to be accelerated to meet 2030 targets. The EU presented its approach to scaling up biodiversity finance, including the EU Nature Credits Roadmap, and both sides exchanged views on mobilizing private investment for nature protection and restoration, as well as the role of the Cali Fund for fair sharing of benefits from Digital Sequence Information.
On plastic pollution, the EU and China reaffirmed their joint commitment to advance negotiations on an ambitious, legally binding global instrument to end plastic pollution across the full lifecycle of plastics, acknowledging that rising plastic pollution cannot be addressed by any country alone. Discussions also covered chemical pollution prevention, including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), known as “forever chemicals,” and persistent organic pollutants.
Both sides agreed on the importance of science-based policymaking and recognized the roles of intergovernmental science panels including the IPCC, IPBES, and the International Resource Panel. Looking ahead, both confirmed continued cooperation in preparation for the 7th High-Level Environment and Climate Dialogue in 2026, to be co-chaired by EU Executive Vice President Teresa Ribera and China’s Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang. (*)
