The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics will begin on February 4th. Based on the “green Olympics” idea, all of the Games’ 26 venues will be powered entirely by renewable energy. The concept of “green Olympics” offers Chinese insight on how to cope with the interplay between development and conservation.
To address the serious challenge of global warming, both China and Russia have set a strategic goal of reducing carbon and green gas emissions, which creates new requirements for energy transformation in both countries while also creating new opportunities for green energy cooperation between Beijing and Moscow, Globaltimes.cn writes.
China and Russia share a desire for green and sustainable growth. Promoting energy transition and establishing green energy cooperation is therefore in their mutual interests.
China is the world’s greatest carbon emitter, while Russia is one of the world’s major nations with the highest intensity of carbon emissions. Both nations are industrializing and are under pressure to decrease emissions. They are also threatened by trade protectionism and Western sanctions. The introduction of the European carbon border tax, in particular, would result in significant losses for Russian energy exports. As a result, greater green energy cooperation is in China and Russia’s mutual interests.
Both governments have emphasized energy conservation and emissions reduction. China has made a serious promise to accomplish peak carbon emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060. Moscow also adopted a new 2050 Strategy of Social and Economic Development with Low Greenhouse Gas Emissions in October 2021, detailing low greenhouse gas emission development strategies until 2050.
Natural gas cooperation is very important for the two superpowers. Natural gas is critical for China in encouraging energy transition, reducing smog, and improving the atmospheric environment. As China has become the world’s biggest natural gas importer, cooperation with Russia may assist China in securing a long-term, stable guarantee for natural gas, which is critical for ensuring national energy security and developing a diverse foreign energy supply system.
Following the implementation of the EU carbon border tax, Europe’s energy exports from Russia have decreased. As a result, China, as a steady gas export market, is strategically important to Russia’s energy industry. In recent years, the two nations have collaborated on a number of natural gas projects. In the future, Beijing and Moscow should continue to enhance their collaboration in the sector of natural gas to ensure that their interests are integrated.