China-EU ties fashion green future

Mabey says such trade protectionist measures show the concerns of the situation when what makes sense economically does not transform into politics, because it is the EU market that has driven the growth of China's renewable industry to its scale.

Globally, solar photovoltaic module prices have fallen by 80 percent since 2008, by 20 percent since the beginning of 2012 and by 12 percent in 2014 alone. This is made possible by both the EU's commitment to renewable targets and China's manufacturing prowess, and the fall in prices has also brought benefits to both the Chinese and EU economies.

In relation to these trade tensions, the paper suggests that in the future, the EU and China maintain and consider lowering current levels of Chinese and EU applied tariffs on a mutually agreed list of low carbon and environmental goods and services, and to work toward further trade liberalization.

It also suggests that both sides work proactively to avoid unnecessary trade disputes, especially in low carbon and environmental sectors, by enhancing the mutual transparency of subsidies and support mechanisms.

There may more issues that need to be worked out regarding China-EU cooperation on low carbon development, such as infrastructure investment, which China is leading through initiatives such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the country's Belt and Road Initiative, Mabey says.

A total of 14 European countries have invested in the AIIB, although not as a bloc. Cooperation with China on the bank will lead to discussion on which investments are suitable for the AIIB. From Europe's perspective, the sustainability of investments will also come into the discussions.

Another key area that Mabey's team sees as a key driver for low carbon cooperation is in the area of green finance, which will be a powerful force to channel funds into environmentally friendly projects.

Because it was heavily involved in helping to set up the UK Green Investment Bank, Mabey's team has also been invited to give advice to the Chinese government, helping it to come up with plans for equivalent financial market structures that can channel funds into environmental projects.

Founded in 2012, the UK Green Investment Bank's purpose is to accelerate the UK's transition to a greener, stronger economy. It has been given capital of 3.8 billion pounds ($5.8 billion; 5.3 billion euros) to invest by the UK government. Most of its investments help fund the creation of new, modern, green infrastructure across the UK and with that, new jobs in construction and operational projects.

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