Xie Zhenhua (politician)
Xie Zhenhua | |
---|---|
解振华 | |
Born | 1949 (age 74–75) Tianjin, China |
Occupation | Chinese 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
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
Career
He was appointed head of the
In 2007 Xie was appointed vice minister at the
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
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 2020's, 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
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Yahoo Finance.
- ^ a b "Copenhagen climate conference: The key players". The Guardian. 2009-11-30. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
- ^ "环保总局局长解振华辞职". Tencent (in Chinese). 2005-12-03.
- ^ a b c Pike, Lili (2024-01-29). "The Climate Envoys Who Could". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
- ^ a b c Li, Jane. "China's Xie Zhenhua is the most important person attending COP26". Quartz. Retrieved 2021-11-05.
- ^ "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.
- ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-11-05.
- ^ Spring, Jake. "China's top climate negotiator sees carbon market deal at COP26", Reuters (2 Nov 2021).
- ^ 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.
- ISBN 978-0-262-54482-5.
- ^ "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.