中欧社会论坛 - China Europa Forum

2014 Paris Climate Change Guangzhou Press Conference for the 2014 China-Europa Dialogue “Facing Climate Change: Rethinking Our Global Development Model” (the 2014 Paris Conference on Climate Change), was held at the HILTON GUANGZHOU BAIYUN on July 16.

The event was organised by the China-Europa Forum (CEF), the SEE Foundation, Guangzhou Dayoo Media Co., Ltd. and the FAZE Urbanisation and Wellbeing Institute (Guangzhou) (Faze UWI).

The meeting began with a recorded speech by Mr George Berthoin, one of the founders of the European Union, followed with a video speech by Mr. Bruno Bisson, Consul General of the Consulate General of France in Guangzhou. Distinguished guests included Ms LIU Xiaogang, Secretary-General of the Society of Entrepreneurs& Ecology (SEE), Mr PAN Shengshen, Chairman of the Pearl River Project Centre of the SEE and CEO of the Hitachi Elevator (China) Co. Ltd., Mr WU Guohua, Deputy General Manager of the Guangdong Guangzhou Daily Media Co. Ltd and General Manager of Guangzhou Dayoo Media Co., Ltd., Ms ZHAO Rong, Executive Vice Chairman of the Guangdong Energy Conservation Association, Mr. ZHANG Jianjun, Associate Professor of Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion, Chinese Academy of Sciences，and representatives from co-organisers and media partners of the 2014 Paris Conference on Climate Change. They witnessed the presentation of the draft Common Text on Climate Change. Dr CHEN Yan, Executive President of the CEF shared preliminary feedback on the draft Text of European civilian organisations. Participants from relevant industry associations, enterprises, NGOs and media had an in-depth discussion on “climate change and low-carbon actions of civilian society” in order to pool comments from all sides and polish the Common Text.

The Common Text consists of four parts, including climate change and global responses, rethinking our global development model from the perspective of climate change, stances and action plans of Chinese and European civil societies in the face of climate change and the list of contributors. The draft Text was prepared by the Drafting Committee under the leadership of Prof. ZHOU Yongzhang, Director of the Centre for Earth Environment and Resources at Sun Yat-Sen University and Prof. ZHENG Baowei, Director of the Journalism and Social Development Research Centre at Renmin University of China and Director of the China Centre for Climate Change Communication. The Common Text, as one of the most important outcomes of the 2014 Paris Conference on Climate Change, is designed to identify the points of both disagreement and consensus between Chinese and European societies on climate change and low-carbon issues; to propose solutions to overcoming the differences between Chinese, Europeans and Americans, from the point of view of civilian society and civic responsibility; and to provide a reference document for the UN Conference on Climate Change (COP21) in Paris in 2015. The CEF will organise a Presentation Ceremony for the Common Text at COP 20 in Lima and COP 21 in Paris to submit it to the Peruvian President and the French President.

2014 Paris Climate Change Conference is part of the Commemorating Events to the 50th Anniversary of Sino-French Diplomatic Relations. With the support from the AllianceFrancaise in Guangzhou, a photo exhibition “50 Historic Sites in Paris” by Professor CHENG Zenghou is showcased on the spot.

Initiated by the CEF, the 2014 Paris Conference on Climate Change will be co-organised by the CEF and the SEE Foundation with support from a number of NGOs, research institutes, enterprises and media partners. The conference will take place in Paris and other European cities on December 2-5, 2014, alongside commemorating the 50th anniversary of Sino-French diplomatic relations in 2014 and leading up to the COP21 in Paris in 2015. The CEF, in an attempt to make a contribution to the COP20 and COP21, would like to take this historic opportunity to appeal to the international community to stand in solidarity, rethinking our global development model and taking action in the face of the paramount threats of climate change to human survival.