Xie Zhenhua (politician)

Not to be confused with Xie Zhenhua (general).
In this Chinese name, the family name is Xie.
Xie Zhenhua
解振华
Xie in 2014
Born1949 (age 74–75)
Tianjin, China
OccupationChinese representative on climate change

Xie Zhenhua (Chinese: 解振华; born November 1949[1]) is a Chinese politician who served as vice-chairman of China's top economic development body, the National Development and Reform Commission as well as serving as China's special climate envoy.

Early life and education

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Xie Zhenhua was born in Tianjin. During the Cultural Revolution he was put to work in the countryside.[2] Specifically, he was among the millions of “sent-down youth” who were dispatched to the countryside to retrain their minds through hard labor, and for this Xie was sent to Heihe in the northern province of Heilongjiang.[3] Xie joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 1969.[4]

He graduated in 1977 from Tsinghua University with an Engineering Physics degree.[3] Xie also earned a master's degree of law from the Department of Environmental Laws, Wuhan University School of Law in 1991.[1]

Career

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He was appointed head of the State Environmental Protection Administration in 1998, and during his tenure required companies to comply with environmental rules, but was eventually forced to resign after the 2005 Jilin chemical plant explosions.[5][6]

Xie speaking at the Global Climate Action Summit in 2018.

In 2007 Xie was appointed vice minister at the National Development and Reform Commission.[6] In 2015 he stepped down from this position to focus on being a Chinese representative on climate change.[7] He was the lead negotiator for China at most United Nations Climate Change Conferences since 2009. In 2019 he was replaced by his aide Zhao Yingmin,[2][4][8] before returning to that role.

Xie's role has been positively received among many foreign politicians and climate change activists, as he has been a driver behind China signing binding commitments to reduce emissions. Xie is seen as "China's voice on climate change".[7] He has emphasized China's stance that rich countries have a greater responsibility regarding climate change than China, though China has been the world's largest carbon emitter since 2006.[3] His speech at the 2010 climate conference in South Africa conveyed this Chinese position:[2][7][9]

We are developing countries. We need to develop and eradicate poverty while protecting the environment. We’ve done what we should do, but you [developed countries] haven’t. What right do you have to lecture us?

Xie remains at the forefront of debate over China's economic responsibilities for climate change mitigation, and advocates carbon emission trading (also known as a carbon market), and climate aid to developing countries.[10] He led the Chinese delegation at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (i.e. COP26) in November of that year.[11]

Xie worked with former California governor Jerry Brown to establish a new center for California-China climate cooperation at University of California, Berkeley.[12]: 108  During his time as climate envoy in the 2020s, he befriended John Kerry, his American counterpart, before his retirement.[6]

Xie retired in January 2024 for health reasons. He was replaced by former Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of China Liu Zhenmin.[13]

References

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  1. ^ a b "BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE OF THE AWARDEE OF THE LUI CHE WOO PRIZE – PRIZE FOR WORLD CIVILISATION 2017 SUSTAINABILITY PRIZE", Board of Governors, Lui Che Woo Prize.
  2. ^ a b c Waarlo, Niels (2021-11-04). "Westerse landen moeten in de spiegel kijken, vindt de man achter China's klimaatambities". de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 2021-11-05.
  3. ^ a b c Li, Jane. “China’s Xie Zhenhua is the most important person attending COP26”, Quartz (27 Oct 2021) via Yahoo Finance.
  4. ^ a b "Copenhagen climate conference: The key players". The Guardian. 2009-11-30. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  5. ^ "环保总局局长解振华辞职". Tencent (in Chinese). 2005-12-03.
  6. ^ a b c Pike, Lili (2024-01-29). "The Climate Envoys Who Could". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
  7. ^ a b c Li, Jane. "China's Xie Zhenhua is the most important person attending COP26". Quartz. Retrieved 2021-11-05.
  8. ^ "Zhao Yingmin has replaced Xie Zhenhua as head of the Chinese UNFCCC delegation – Sino-German Cooperation on Climate Change, Environment, and Natural Resources". Retrieved 2021-11-06.
  9. ^ "China's Climate Calculation". Wall Street Journal. 2015-12-08. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-11-05.
  10. ^ Spring, Jake. "China's top climate negotiator sees carbon market deal at COP26", Reuters (2 Nov 2021).
  11. ^ Edward, Debi (1 November 2021). "Is COP26 doomed to fail without China's Xi Jinping?". ITV News. Archived from the original on 5 November 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  12. ^ Lewis, Joanna I. (2023). Cooperating for the Climate: Learning from International Partnerships in China's Clean Energy Sector. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-54482-5.
  13. ^ "解振华卸任气候特使，COP28成绝唱_《财经》客户端". www.mycaijing.com. Retrieved 2024-01-13.
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