Latest News

Britain's Energy Minister visits China to discuss climate change and energy cooperation

Britain's Energy Minister is visiting Beijing this Friday to discuss climate issues and energy issues. He hopes that re-engaging China, the world's biggest carbon emitter as well as a supplier of renewable energy infrastructure, will bring economic benefits.

The government announced that Ed Miliband would meet with the Chinese energy and environmental ministers on his 14-17 March visit. He will also launch a framework of climate talks, which will see his counterparts in Beijing visiting London later this summer.

Miliband wants to update an old clean energy partnership that has been in place for a decade with China. He will outline areas of collaboration, such as carbon capture and storage technologies and hydrogen power production.

The UK hopes that its goal of switching almost exclusively to clean energy by the end decade will be aided by closer ties with China. China is the world's largest investor and supplier of renewable energy infrastructure.

Miliband also wants to see his ambitious target of decarbonisation rub off on Chinese policies, and the Chinese government has promised to share their expertise in phasing-out the use coal, on which China is still heavily reliant.

Miliband stated that "we can only protect future generations from climate change by ensuring all major emitters take action."

It is a simple act of neglect to the present and future generations to not engage China in how it can take action on climate change.

This is the third visit by a senior British Minister in recent months, following the foreign and finance ministries. Keir starmer wants to reset the relationship with Beijing after the degeneration of relations under the former British government.

The Starmer government’s approach to China revolves around a mantra that is often repeated by its ministers: “cooperating when we can, competing when we need to, challenging where we have to.”

The British government announced that Miliband would "engage honestly" with Britain's concerns over forced labour in Hong Kong, freedoms and human rights in Hong Kong, and China's support of Russia's conflict in Ukraine. (Reporting and editing by Christina Fincher, Susanna Twidale and William James)

(source: Reuters)