Joint EU-China Climate Statement: Chief Executive of EU Climate Initiative Responds

London, United Kingdom, April 04, 2014 --(PR.com)-- European innovators to prioritise practical collaboration with China.

China’s President Xi visited Europe this week and reaffirmed, with EU Presidents Barroso and Van Rompuy, the importance of climate change and sustainable development for both regions.

In a joint statement, the leaders singled out the EU-China Urbanisation Partnership as important and called for the relationships to be translated into concrete projects on the ground.

Climate-KIC, the EU’s main climate innovation initiative, is one of twelve bilateral relationships recognised within the EU-China Urbanisation Partnership. Through its relationship with Tianjin – the fourth largest city of China – where it is working on city-level initiatives on smart city development and green buildings.

Climate-KIC CEO Mary Ritter said: “I can announce that we have prioritised the development of practical collaboration with China and are working closely with the European Commission, the EU Delegation in Beijing and a range of Chinese partners to form outcome-oriented relationships between the Climate-KIC network of partners and China.

“We are working to form a bridge between Europe and China on climate and green economic development issues. As a pan-European network with the best of Europe’s businesses, universities and public sector organisations, Climate-KIC is in a unique position to do so.

“Our network is very attractive to our Chinese partners – we have operations in twelve European countries and strong links with the cities and regions in our network.

“The solutions we need to tackle climate change will only come through creative partnerships between the private, public and academic sectors. Only by harnessing these networks will we reach the solutions – large and small, local and global – that we need, and we are reaching out globally to make it happen."

Notes For Editors
Joint EU-China statement
Some of the relevant paragraphs:
16. The two sides expressed their readiness to learn from each other’s reform processes. Both sides are committed to exchanging experience in such key areas as urbanisation, enhanced cooperation on the environment, regional development, urban-rural integration, governance systems and governance capacity building. They reaffirmed the importance of the EU-China urbanisation partnership as a key instrument to promote sustainable development. They looked forward to it being translated into concrete projects on the ground.

18. Both sides recognised the need to strengthen cooperation on climate change in preparing a protocol, another legal instrument or an agreed outcome with legal force under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change applicable to all Parties to be adopted in 2015 at the Conference of Parties to the Convention (COP21) in Paris. They underlined their commitment to making significant cuts in greenhouse gas emissions through credible and verifiable domestic action. Both sides agreed on the importance of all parties presenting their contributions well in advance of the Paris meeting. The EU and China will cooperate on taking domestic action to avoid or reduce the consumption of HFCs and to work together to promote a global phase-down of these substances.

EU-China Urbanisation Partnership

The EU-China Urbanisation Partnership was launched in May 2012 in Brussels, and is intended to be a milestone in the strategic relations between China and the EU.

It addresses a crucial Chinese challenge, urbanisation, through an innovative networking approach between Chinese and EU cities and regions. Local and regional authorities have started playing a leading role in such international relations.

Climate-KIC announced its collaboration with Tianjin as part of this partnership in November 2013.

About Climate-KIC
Climate-KIC is the EU’s main climate innovation initiative. It is Europe’s largest public-private innovation partnership focused on mitigating and adapting to climate change. Climate-KIC consists of companies, academic institutions and the public sector.

The public-private partnership is partially funded by the European Commission through its European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) – which has confirmed an initial €63 million grant for 2014 – and receives financial and in-kind support from over 200 businesses, universities and public bodies across Europe.

The initiative is set to increase its ties with global partners, connecting Europe with major developing markets in key carbon-producing nations such as China and Brazil. Climate-KIC is expected to represent Europe’s climate innovation community on the international stage throughout the year.

The organisation has its headquarters in London, UK, and leverages its centres across Europe to support start-up companies, to bring together partners on innovation projects and to educate students to bring about a connected, creative transformation of knowledge and ideas into products and services that help mitigate and adapt to climate change.

Climate-KIC currently has centres in France, Germany, The Netherlands, Switzerland, the UK, a Nordic centre in Denmark and is represented in the regions of Valencia, Central Hungary, Emilia Romagna, Lower Silesia, Hessen and the West Midlands.

Climate-KIC is one of the Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) created in 2010 by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), the EU body tasked with creating sustainable European growth while dealing with the global challenges of our time.