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The Diplomat
5 days ago
- Business
- The Diplomat
Where Climate Fits in China-EU Engagement During Trump 2.0
Europe and China are taking steps to strengthen ties where possible, despite a complicated relationship, as Donald Trump's second term as U.S. president assaults the frameworks that their economies and climate security rely on. On July 24, top political leaders from both sides will meet in Beijing for the EU-China summit. This high-level meeting underscores the political imperative. But the China-EU summit in past years has mostly lacked concrete deliverables, in part due to the increasing complexity of China-EU relations. It's worthwhile for diplomats to identify some near-term goals to get this high-speed reconciliation underway. Ultimately, the EU and China's strategic assessments of each other may not have changed drastically. But the man ruling the White House is a significant factor in altering the context, providing both sides with the incentive and need to make meaningful progress. As the two sides prepare for the July summit, trade is the most prominent topic, with ongoing but challenging negotiations. While it is unclear whether consensus will be reached on trade arrangements, there is a good chance that high-level exchanges in environmental and climate areas can deliver progress. In fact, 'climate change, biodiversity, and advancing the green transition' were listed as the only 'areas of shared interest' in the European Council's preview of the summit. Despite ongoing tensions over clean tech trade, both sides still share a common interest in bolstering the global energy transition, strengthening multilateralism, and pushing back against unilateralism, isolationism, and climate denialism. The EU-China High-Level Dialogue on Environment and Climate, which concluded two weeks before the Leaders' Summit, is a strong demonstration of common ground. The fact that these topics enjoy significant overlap in the China-EU relationship is a great strength, and that shouldn't be ignored. It's also worth noting that, compared to Trump 1.0, when the cost of renewable energy was still higher than the cheapest fossil fuels in many parts of the world, today the cost incentives of the energy systems are on the side of progress and stronger deployment of climate solutions. China issued red alerts for flood risk in late June, for the first but likely not the last time this year. Meanwhile, heatwaves are scorching Europe. As both sides enter climate disaster season, projecting extreme heat and rainfall, the urgent need for collaboration on climate issues could not be more clear. Neither side has delivered its 2035 climate plan, known under the Paris Agreement as their nationally-determined contributions (NDCs). Better alignment on timing and the ambition level of NDCs stands out as a major opportunity to strengthen the global energy transition and bilateral ties. Over the next few weeks, alignment between China and the EU will benefit greatly from coordination on identifying important yet feasible deliverables on both sides' agendas at multilateral fora. The China-EU summit provides an opportunity for the highest-level political exchanges on each side's respective climate targets, offering an important chance for leaders from both sides to clarify their ambitions and timeline. So far, signals from China have not offered enough reassurance. Chinese policymakers have adopted a conservative approach to defining what is possible for climate action, compromising in the face of economic pressure and geopolitical tensions. Policymakers in Beijing still tend to see ambitious climate action as an economic burden, despite China's technological and manufacturing strength in climate solutions. This way of thinking is perhaps outdated. In fact, an ambitious NDC would boost China's economy and earn it recognition as a responsible global power. A strong plan from China needs to feature both targets to further expand wind and solar energy and clear measures to limit coal. Together, these efforts will lead to a robust pathway for reducing emissions and keep alive the global goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. On the European side, the EU projects itself as a global leader when it comes to climate action. Over the last year, this image has been damaged. Inside the EU, several governments and political parties are pushing to slow down climate action and lower climate ambition. In Trumpian fashion, some want to do away with it altogether. This is further cause for alarm at such a crucial time, with the world on the brink of missing the chance to limit global warming to 1.5 C. The EU has now started the legislative process to establish its climate target for 2040, following the publication of the European Commission's proposal on July 2. The proposed target is a 90 percent net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to 1990 levels, but it includes the use of 'high quality' carbon credits for up to 3 percent of this target, and starting from 2036 only (meaning it won't impact the NDC). The EU's climate target for 2035 will be agreed after a special Environment Council of member states on September 18. For China's climate target, President Xi Jinping in April offered a loosely defined timeline that the 2035 target would come out before COP30, to be held in November 2025, and China remains attentive to the actions of other key players. That puts this moment in China-EU relations at the center of the global climate effort in a year where progress on climate will be seen as a bellwether for multilateralism and the ability of the global climate process to fortify itself from unilateral attacks on science and clean tech industries. No two parties are better positioned to strengthen the pylons than China and the EU.
New Straits Times
08-07-2025
- Business
- New Straits Times
Anwar lays out vision for more equitable world
IN Rio de Janeiro this week, the city welcomed leaders for the BRICS Summit. A fresh voice entered the conversation: Malaysia, a newly engaged BRICS partner country and current chair of Asean. Moments after touching down, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was ushered on stage alongside President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to open the BRICS Business Forum. The prime minister delivered an address that was personal and relatable and uplifting. At the core of his speech was a simple truth: the developing world can no longer be seen as peripheral players in a system built elsewhere. We are not relics of post-colonial history. We are rising powers in our own right, armed with moral capital, technological capacity and economic ambition. Anwar did not merely speak for Malaysia and Asean. He articulated for the Global South its pursuit of a more equitable, responsive and plural future. There was particular praise for President Lula, whose principled leadership has steered BRICS beyond rhetoric into something more consequential: a coalition with real potential to influence global structures. Today's BRICS, Anwar noted, is not just a forum of statesmen. It includes the voices of the private sector, youth, women and civil society. That gives it a level of resilience, inclusivity and legitimacy that Bretton Woods institutions do not have, weighed down by their hierarchical and opaque structures. Anwar's message marked clarity of purpose: Malaysia, and the Global South too, want to engage all, defer to none, and recast the architecture of global cooperation frameworks from the prism of developing nations. As chair of Asean, Malaysia brings a regional mandate grounded in multilateralism, economic openness and collective agency. Anwar addressed Asean's drive to strengthen intra-regional trade and investment, deepen financial integration and promote local currencies for cross-border transactions, towards a more stable, diversified and less dollar-dependent system. Building on this vision, the BRICS private sector could push innovative frameworks in finance, via green sukuk, climate-aligned instruments and sustainability-linked vehicles, as levers for systemic transformation. In his interventions at the Leaders' Summit, Anwar made a strong case for closer BRICS-Asean ties. Both reflect the ambitions of the Global South, not to disrupt global order, but to rebalance it. As economic bifurcation deepens and supply chains collapse, this dialogue helps to rebuild connectivity, fortify inter-regional trade and investment, and enhance collaboration in the sectors that matter. Anwar called for nothing less than reform of the major postwar institutions, such as the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the World Trade Organisation, in order to reflect the 21st-century world. The existing multilateral architecture is fraying, not for lack of ideals, but in terms of responsiveness and the failure to evolve. On the notion that Malaysia's partnership with BRICS is demonstrative of a geo-economic deflection from the West, particularly the United States, Anwar made it unequivocally clear that the US remains Malaysia's top source of foreign direct investment. In terms of trade, the United States continues to be Malaysia's third-largest partner, a position it has held since 2015. Thus, any suggestion of a shift, strategic or otherwise, is groundless. That said, BRICS represents not a counterweight, but a counterproposal deeply rooted in inclusion, equity and shared sovereignty. It embodies a vision of balanced multilateralism that is networked, adaptive and genuinely plural. Make no mistake: what we saw in Rio was not a symbolic appearance. It was Malaysia stepping into a new role as bridge-builder, regional convenor and vocal proponent of a more equitable global economy. That momentum continues in October, when Malaysia hosts the Asean Summit in Kuala Lumpur that Lula has pledged to attend — a testament to the growing stature of this partnership. The path forward is clear: not a retreat from the multilateral order, but its reform. Not a rejection of global engagement, but its redistribution. Not a rivalry of blocs, but a realignment of priorities.
IOL News
27-06-2025
- Business
- IOL News
G20 faces a generational test amid geopolitical challenges
Delegates to the U20 African Mayors Assembly at the Union Buildings, Pretoria on June 17, 2025. Image: DIRCO Alvin Botes Since December 1 last year until the Leaders' Summit in November 2025, South Africa chairs the world's most influential economic forum, that is the G20, under the theme: 'Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability'. The theme signals our determination to put people — not profits — at the centre of global decision-making. Our high-level priorities are clear and interlinked. Firstly, inclusive economic growth, industrialisation, employment and the reduction of inequality. Secondly, food security in an era of climate disruption. Thirdly, harnessing artificial intelligence and broader technological innovation for sustainable development. Complementing these three priorities is our drive for disaster-risk resilience and fair debt-relief architecture so that climate-vulnerable and heavily indebted countries are not forced to choose between servicing loans and saving lives. The stakes could not be higher. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) reports that global unemployment is hovering near a historic low of five per cent, yet globally the average for young people remains stubbornly high — about 13 per cent worldwide, and more than double that in many developing economies. Here at home, 4.8 million South Africans aged 15–34 are unemployed; 58 per cent of them have never had a single day of paid work, and our youth unemployment rate climbed to 46.1 per cent in the first quarter of this year. Beyond the headline numbers lurk deeper structural hazards: one in five young Africans is classified as NEET—'not in employment, education or training'—and those already in work face a future in which artificial intelligence-driven automation could render up to 40 per cent of entry-level jobs obsolete by 2035, according to the World Economic Forum's Global Risks Report. Compounding that uncertainty are intersecting crises of mental-health fragility, climate anxiety, escalating conflict-driven displacement, and the rising cost of living that now consumes, on average, 38 per cent of a young person's monthly income across the G20. Add to that what the economist Adam Tooze calls a global 'poly-crisis' which includes, amongst others, geopolitical polarisation, climate-related disasters, food-price shocks and widening digital divides. And it becomes clear why the South African presidency has framed 2025 as a make-or-break moment for multilateral cooperation. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. 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Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Geopolitically, the world is also experiencing what some economists such as Mark Blyth, Mohamed El-Erian and Michael Spence call a 'perma-crisis': the United States and China are locked in an uneasy dance of de-risking, Russia-Ukraine war continues to reshape energy and grain markets, and simmering conflicts from the Red Sea to the Sahel threaten already fragile supply chains. At the same time, global public debt has surpassed US $100 trillion, forcing developing nations to divert scarce resources away from youth programmes toward interest payments. In the Employment Working Group of the Sherpa Track, we are negotiating a compact on youth employment and skills, building on the Antalya Goals (which were agreed to during Türkiye's presidency of the G20) but adding targets for digital-economy apprenticeships, recognition of micro-credentials and mutual portability of qualifications across G20 members. If endorsed by leaders, the compact will potentially translate into an estimated 10 million paid internship placements over five years, with a gender-parity clause and an annual public scorecard so you can hold the G20 accountable. In the Finance Track, we are advancing an 'Innovation & Inclusion Facility' financed through blended public-private instruments to support start-ups led by women and young people in frontier technologies and green manufacturing. Its first-phase endowment of US $3 billion will be disbursed via challenge funds that prioritise township and rural enterprises, with a target of 150,000 sustainable jobs by 2027. In the Agriculture Working Group and the Environment and Climate Sustainability Working Group, we are championing a Just Agri-Transition Facility that links smallholder farmers, including youth, to climate-smart finance and regional value chains. Beyond financing climate-resilient seed and drip-irrigation systems, the facility will underwrite a Pan-African farmers marketplace app that is targeted at youth and guarantees offtake agreements with regional supermarket chains. Finally, our AI priority aims to deliver a 'Pan-G20 Youth Digital Corps,' a volunteer-to-employment pipeline that pairs South African coders with continental and global partners to solve public-sector data challenges. The G20 was born out of the 1997 Asian financial meltdown and re-energised amid the 2008 crash. It now faces a generation-defining test: can it propel the global economy so that young people inherit not debts and droughts but opportunity and hope? South Africa believes it can—if the world finally listens to its largest demographic - the youth. * Alvin Botes is Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation. ** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL, Independent Media or The African.
Scoop
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Prime Minister Marape Reinforces PNG's Commitment At MSG
Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister, James Marape, arrived Sunday in Suva, Fiji, to attend the 23rd Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Leaders' Summit. The summit, chaired by Fiji this year, brings together leaders from all Melanesian states and the FLNKS (Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front of New Caledonia) to address shared priorities such as climate action, trade, regional security, and decolonisation efforts. Prime Minister Marape is accompanied by the higher education minister, Feo Kinoka. His attendance underscores Papua New Guinea's commitment as a founding and senior member of the MSG, an organisation established in 1986 to strengthen political, economic, and cultural ties among Melanesian nations. Vanuatu has handed over its role as chairperson to Fiji. This transition preceded the formal opening of the MSG Leaders Plenary meeting and a closed-door Leaders' Retreat. Prime Minister Marape is expected to deliver Papua New Guinea's country statement, reaffirming the nation's dedication to strengthening MSG cooperation while reinforcing broader regional partnerships through the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF). "The Pacific region stands at a crossroads. We must take a proactive approach to safeguarding our sovereignty, protecting our resources, and ensuring that our voices are heard on the global stage. Our collective efforts must also voice strongly against human rights abuses in our region and for respect for all our people and members of our Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), the Melanesian Spearhead Group community, and others." He is also anticipated to advocate for reforms within regional organisations to ensure they remain responsive, inclusive, and capable of meeting current and future development and security challenges. A significant aspect of Prime Minister Marape's engagement in Fiji includes high-level political talanoa consultations with the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) of the PIF. These discussions are taking place on the sidelines of the MSG Leaders' Meeting and are part of a wider regional effort led by the PIF to enhance Pacific solidarity and strategic cooperation. The talanoa process will focus on critical issues such as regional security, climate change, fisheries resource management, political governance, national sovereignty, and the institutional reforms of both regional and sub-regional groupings in the Pacific. Prime Minister Marape has consistently called for a reformed and united Pacific architecture, and he is expected to advocate for stronger collaboration between MSG members and the wider Pacific community. He has emphasised the importance of regional ownership, institutional capacity-building, and ensuring that regional decision-making remains grounded in Pacific cultural values while embracing innovation, inclusion, and resilience. The United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) is present at the MSG meeting as an observer, and there have been calls for West Papua to be included as a full member of the MSG. This ongoing discussion reflects a persistent aspiration for greater recognition and self-determination for West Papua within the Melanesian family. It is understood that Prime Minister Marape will also highlight his discussions with French President Emmanuel Macron on New Caledonia. These discussions typically centre on the decolonisation process in New Caledonia and the future of the FLNKS, which is a member of the MSG, reflecting a shared regional interest in the self-determination of the Kanak people.
Canada Standard
11-06-2025
- Business
- Canada Standard
South African president plans to hold talks with G7 leaders
JOHANNESBURG, June 10 (Xinhua) -- South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Tuesday that he is planning to hold bilateral meetings with several Group of Seven (G7) counterparts, including U.S. President Donald Trump, during the upcoming G7 summit. "I'm hoping that when we meet the various other leaders of various countries who are part of the G7, we'll be able to interact meaningfully with them. I'm going to have bilaterals with the chancellor of Germany, with the prime minister of Canada, and of course, I will also be meeting President Trump, who we met at the White House," he said. Speaking to the media in Pretoria, Ramaphosa once again described his recent White House visit as a success, despite criticism surrounding allegations of an unfounded "white genocide." He said that the main objectives of the visit were to reset relationships between the two countries and focus on trade issues. "It's important for us to reposition ourselves in the turbulent geopolitical architecture," he stated. South Africa was among the countries affected by the United States' trade tariffs. Ramaphosa told reporters that discussions on trade were ongoing, and "those engagements are taking place." Ramaphosa said he was invited by Canada and the meeting of the G7 was a perfect opportunity for South Africa to "propagate" its G20 message "and how we want to see great outcomes out of the G20." "We're going to use it (the G7 summit) as a platform to begin to consolidate what we want to achieve in November when the (G20) Leaders' Summit takes place here, so it's a great opportunity and we we're hoping that there will be good outcomes out of it," Ramaphosa noted.
