China and Kenya Urge Fairer Global Environmental Rules as Top UN Climate Summit Ends

China's Vice Minister for Ecology and Environment, GUO Fang, stressed that the world is facing a shared future defined by three interconnected global challenges during the forum. [File, Standard]

China and Kenya this week concluded a major United Nations climate assembly by calling for a more "just and equitable" system of global environmental governance the shared rules and institutions that manage environmental issues worldwide.

They urged greater multilateral cooperation to effectively combat the planet's escalating "triple crisis."

The call came during a high-level side event in Nairobi, themed "Improving Global Environmental Governance to Jointly Build a Clean and Beautiful World," held as the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA) wrapped up.

China's Vice Minister for Ecology and Environment GUO Fang, stressed that the world is facing a shared future defined by three interconnected global challenges: "climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental pollution."

This combination is often referred to as the "triple planetary crisis."

Vice Minister Guo emphasised that "joint action is our only viable choice."

She highlighted President Xi Jinping's Global Governance Initiative (GGI) a Chinese proposal for reforming the global management system as a crucial global contribution, and detailed China's progress in environmental clean-up.

"In our major cities, the average PM 2.5 level has fallen by 56 per cent," she said, referring to the reduction in the amount of tiny, harmful particulate matter that causes air pollution.

"These results show that rapid development and environmental protection can go hand in hand."

Reinforcing the diplomatic push, Chinese Ambassador to Kenya and Permanent Representative to UNEP, GUO Haiyan, noted that a more equitable global governance system is essential.

She emphasised that China's GGI initiative promotes core concepts such as "staying committed to sovereign equality" and international rule of law to ensure fairness in the system.

Adding Kenya's perspective, Ali Mohamed, Kenya's Climate Change Envoy, championed Africa's role as a source of solutions rather than solely a victim of climate impacts.

He highlighted Kenya's significant investment in conservation, including the protection of over 8.8 per cent of its landmass.

The envoy noted that Kenya is committed to reducing its emissions by about 35 per cent in its next Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) the country's official climate action plan submitted under the Paris Agreement.

Envoy Mohamed also expressed concern over the "fragmentation" in global environmental management, calling for all nations to support the expansion and resources of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the premier environmental body headquartered in Nairobi.

"We cannot address issues of biodiversity, for example... without collaboration, without financial systems being fair, without equity being available in the management of environment," he said.

The UN Environment Assembly (UNEA) is recognised as the world's highest-level decision-making body on the environment. It brings together UN member states every two years to establish the global policy agenda for environmental action, making the joint call by China and Kenya a significant diplomatic signal on the future direction of global climate negotiations.