Global Energy Interconnection: an innovative solution for implementing the ParisAgreement—the significance and pathway of integrating GEI into global climate governance

The bottom up contribution model of the Paris Agreement has drawn wide attention from the international community as to whether the agreement will effectively maintain the global average temperature at less than 2 °C higher than pre-industrial levels.Pressure was heavy throughout the negotiation process due to the large gap between the intended NDCs submitted by state parties and the emission reduction required to achieve the 2 °C target.The flexibility of the bottom-up model and the rigidity of the 2 °C target created a natural conflict and contributed to the slow progress and even impasse of negotiations.Therefore, the world is in urgent need of innovative global solutions that will advance the global climate governance process.Against the background of energy consumption transformation and climate governance, the GEI, which features an innovative combination of advanced technologies such as clean energy, global connectivity, and ultra-high voltage transmission, offers a new option for global prosperity and growth with fewer emissions, lower economic costs, and a safer climate, adding new momentum to global climate governance.This study first analyzes the possible contribution of GEI to emission reductions then, on that basis, discusses the position of relevant organizations in the global climate governance system and potential pathways enabling them to take an active part in international climate governance.

1 Aggregate effect of NDCs and the gap in emission reduction

In 2015, the Paris Agreement was adopted at UNFCCC COP21.It specifies that, after 2020, global climate governance will shift from the top-down model of the Kyoto Protocol to a bottom-up model of voluntary emission reductions.Adhering to the principle of common but differentiated responsibility, state parties, based on their respective national conditions, shall propose their own contribution, set their own objectives, and make their commitment to and plans for addressing climate change.These contributions will then be combined to fulfill the goal of global warming control.

1.1 NDCs

NDCs were first proposed at UNFCCC COP19 in Warsaw in 2013.At this conference, state parties were called upon to be domestically prepared as soon as possible for the submission of NDCs so as to lay the foundation for a new global pact on emission reduction [1].Then, at UNFCCC COP20, held in Lima in 2014, the submission of intended NDCs (INDCs) was reiterated as an important principle and state parties were requested to submit quantifiable information such as emission reduction targets,base years, and specific policy measures [2].In 2015, the Paris Agreement was adopted at UNFCCC COP21 and the INDCs of various state parties were inscribed as NDCs,with their commitments to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) as the core content of NDC documents.

As of April 2016, 189 state parties had submitted a total of 164 INDCs, covering 98% of total carbon emissions[3].Most state parties followed the advice of Article 14 of Resolution 1/CP.20, which was adopted at COP20, to provide in their NDC documents their specific objectives of emission reduction, the reference points, time frames and/or periods for implementation, scopes and coverages, planning processes,assumptions and methodological approaches, and other information.Some also provided additional information on their INDCs such as adaptation targets, market mechanisms,and international assistance required to fulfil their INDCs.

1.2 Major methods of communicating emission reduction targets

State parties communicated their INDCs in a wide variety of ways in the submitted documents.Most parties presented plans covering the whole country, all major GHGs, or the majority of emission sources.Their emission reduction targets took different forms [3], the first being absolute quantified targets.This form is used predominantly by developed countries, who proposed absolute targets covering their entire economies.The specific expression aims to bring emissions below a certain benchmark value by a certain target year.Generally, these targets represent drops ranging from 9.8% to 75%.A few parties set absolute targets with no comparison to a base year level.Their targets are the maximum absolute level of permitted emissions.The second form was targets against business as usual (BAU)levels.Many other state parties, predominantly African,West Asian, and South American countries, proposed their emission reduction targets in relation to the BAU level, in which the expected deviation from BAU levels ranges from 1% to 80.6%.The third type of target was in the form of carbon emission intensity.Some state parties proposed their emission reductions as reduced carbon emission intensities;i.e.a decrease of GHG emissions per unit GDP against the level of a reference year.For example, this might entail reducing emission intensity by a margin ranging from 10% to 45% by 2025 or 2030 in comparison to a base year level, perhaps 2005 or 2010.The fourth target type was peak emission targets.Some state parties provided the year or time span when their carbon emissions were expected to reach a peak level.The fifth type was emission reduction actions, whereby some state parties found it difficult to propose quantified targets and instead proposed strategies, programs, or action plans for low-GHG-emission development.

1.3 Gap between the aggregate effect of NDCs and the 2 °C target

According to UNFCCC’s Aggregate Effect of the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions: An Update [3], with all the NDCs fulfilled, the total GHG emissions will still be 8.7 (4.5–13.3) billion tons higher in CO2 equivalence (corresponding to 19% and 9–30%,respectively) than the level required by the least-cost 2 °C scenario (Scenarios where the average global temperature increase is maintained below 2 °C from pre-industrial levels are based on the scenario database of the fifth assessment report of the IPCC.) by 2025 and 15.2 (10.1–21.2) tons higher by 2030 (corresponding to 36% and 24–60%,respectively).Fig.1 presents the global emissions based on the NDC aggregate effect, the least-cost 2 °C scenario, and the 1.5 °C scenario.The red line in the figure shows the global emission trend before NDCs were proposed.The yellow line presents the expected total emissions after NDCs have been implemented.It covers a relatively wide area because NDCs are based on a wide variety of assumptions and conditions;thus, the resulting emission reductions cover wide ranges.The emission levels required to keep global warming below 2 °C at the lowest cost is shown in blue.The deep blue line represents what may happen if global mitigation efforts are stepped up immediately.Sky blue indicates the scenario where global mitigation actions are not launched until 2020 and turquoise shows the scenario where actions are postponed until 2030.If the actions are postponed, emission reduction must be more rapid during 2030–2050 in order to achieve the 2 °C target.The green line depicts the reduction required to keep global warming below 1.5 °C, according to relevant literature.

It is clear that, even if NDCs are fully fulfilled by all state parties, there will still be a substantial gap between the resulting emission level and that required by the 2 °C target.This gap can be filled by launching more intensive emission reduction actions after 2030 to bring overall emissions to the required level by 2050.After that, efforts can be continued in the latter half of the 21st century to achieve faster emission reduction than required by the 2 °C target, thus ensuring fulfillment of the 2 °C target by the end of the century.Conversely, state parties and also potentially the GEI and other non-state actors can implement more emission reduction actions in addition to NDCs to further lower emissions and bring the trend line closer to that required by the 2 °C target.According to the fifth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [4], the later global actions are launched,the higher the economic and social costs.Therefore, by launching additional emission reduction actions, nonstate actors, mainly enterprises and organizations, cannot only contribute to fulfilling the objectives of the Paris Agreement, but also enjoy the dividends of acting early.

Fig.1 Comparison of global emissions by 2025 and 2030 for different scenarios [3]

2 Paris Agreement encourages non-state actors to take additional actions

The Paris Agreement adopts a bottom-up approach,asking state parties to put forth their own intended contributions (including emission reduction targets)on a voluntary basis according to their socioeconomic conditions.As such contributions can be quite conservative,there were concerns that they may add up to an emission reduction level that fell short of fulfilling the 2 °C target proposed by the IPCC.The INDCs proposed by state parties before COP21 proved this concern to be quite reasonable.Therefore, the gap in emission reductions gained attention quite early and was a hot topic at COP21.In the Paris Agreement, a consensus was reached among parties, as described by paragraph 17 of the Adoption of the Paris Agreement [5].This states that “the estimated aggregate greenhouse gas emission levels in 2025 and 2030 resulting from the intended nationally determined contributions do not fall within least-cost 2 °C scenarios but rather lead to a projected level of 55 gigatonnes in 2030, and much greater emission reduction efforts will be required than those associated with the intended nationally determined contributions in order to hold the increase in the global average temperature to below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels by reducing emissions to 40 gigatonnes or to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels by reducing to a level to be identified in the special report referred to in paragraph 21 below.”

In fact, prior to COP21, scholars from France, the host country of the conference, had already discussed adopting a multi-actor program to fill the gap left by the INDCs of state parties.The program centers on a joint action platform of state and non-state actors.With UNFCCC as the leading force, international climate governance contains governments who make commitments as the main actors.However, non-state actors should also be encompassed in the international climate governance process to help fill the gap in emission reductions.This attempt began at the United Nations Climate Summit held in September 2014 and COP20 in Lima, which discussed how to report and count the contributions of non-state actors.Then, at COP21 in Paris, 2015, parties reached a consensus on “welcoming the efforts of all non-Party stakeholders to address and respond to climate change, including those of civil society,the private sector, financial institutions, cities and other subnational authorities”, deciding to build institutions and platforms for this purpose [5].Besides state-led actions,actions of enterprises, local governments, and the civil society should also play their parts in international climate governance.Addressing climate change is not only a task of countries and does not only involve diplomacy.Enterprises,institutions, and the civil society should all shoulder their fair share of responsibility.

3 Contribution of Global Energy Interconnection to international climate governance and the fulfillment of Paris Agreement targets

The GEI is a major platform for large-scale development, transmission, and use of clean energy around the world.It promotes transformation of the global energy structure towards clean and low-carbon energy by advocating the substitution of fossil fuels with electricity and clean energy, enhancing the transmission of electricity,and reducing fossil fuels once again to merely industrial raw materials.The aim is to speed up the formation of a modern energy system dominated by clean energy, centered around electricity, interconnected, and beneficial to all, so that mankind no longer depends on fossil fuels.With regards to energy development, clean energy such as solar power,wind power, and hydropower will take the place of fossil fuels.Regarding energy consumption, electricity generated with clean energy will come from afar to replace coal, oil,and natural gas.Enhancing the transmission of electricity means that electricity will take a larger share in the total final energy consumption and the total amount of energy use will be lower while ensuring that all demands are met.Fossil fuels should be used only as industrial raw materials,which is how they can contribute the most to economic and social development [6,7].GEI in nature is the combination of smart grids, ultra-high voltage transmission networks,and clean energy.Smart grids act as the foundation, bringing together advanced power transmission, smart control, new energy connectivity, new energy storage, and other modern smart technologies.It accommodates power from all types of clean energy sources in both centralized and distributed structures, accepts all types of smart appliances, and allows for interactive services.Thus, it coordinates between power sources, transmission networks, load, and storage, forms a structure featuring complementarity between different types of energy, and achieves highly efficient energy use [8].It contributes to international climate governance and the fulfillment of targets set by the Paris Agreement through the following major aspects:

3.1 It promotes the development and use of clean energy

Currently, the key to global emission reduction is transformation of the energy structure.Although clean energy such as solar power and wind power have witnessed rapid development in recent years, they cannot be principal energy sources supporting operation of the economy and society due to insufficient continuity, stability, and other problems.The basic trend in the transformation of global energy structure is a shift from fossil fuels to low-carbon energy with the ultimate goal of dominant renewable energy and a new era of sustainable development.The bottleneck here is the constant and stable supply of renewable energy.GEI, by building high-quality power transmission networks,aims to solve the problems of unstable and uncertain renewable energy supply by balancing between different time zones, seasons, resource endowments, prices, and other discrepancies, enabling renewable energy to dominate [9].As the stable supply of renewable energy grows, loyal users will increase, renewable energy facilities use will grow, and the returns on relevant investment will rise.This will enable clean energy to develop faster and with higher quality.

3.2 It offers an innovative solution to the difficulties in international climate governance

International climate negotiations have reached several impasses and progress has been slow.The fundamental reason is that state parties fear that ambitious NDCs will add to the cost of economic development and undermine the overall competitiveness of the country and its various industries.Such a concern is fully understandable under current technical conditions.In comparison, GEI, which is based on the application of innovative technologies,makes it possible for all countries in the world to promote socioeconomic development with lower energy and environmental costs.By the end of the century, the population and economy of the world will still be growing.Huge demand for energy will be a grave challenge to sustainable socioeconomic development.GEI connects power grids worldwide to promote efficient and largescale development and use of clean energy around the world.This will eliminate path dependence in global energy development [10]and reduce the projected accumulated global carbon emissions from 4.8 trillion tons (Calculated based on data from the scenario where the world continues with current policies, as released by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA).) to approximately 1 trillion tons by the end of the century, thus fulfilling the target of keeping the global average temperature increase to less than 2 °C from pre-industrial levels [11].

Fig.2 CO2 emissions of the global energy sector in the 2 °C scenario of GEI

Source: Global Energy Interconnection Development Organization(2018) The Action Plan of the Global Energy Internet promotes the implementation of the Paris Agreement

3.3 It offers a new approach towards emission reduction for implementation of the Paris Agreement and the United Nations Framework convention on Climate Change (“the convention”)

Based on existing research findings of the IPCC, in order to achieve the long-term 2 °C target of the Paris Agreement and zero net emissions, renewable energy must be promoted vigorously to improve the efficiency of energy use.In addition, negative emission technologies such as carbon capture and storage (CCS) and bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BIOCCS) must be adopted to offset the stock of GHG emissions.GEI will not only boost the development of renewable energy and increase the share of electricity in total energy consumption, but also significantly reduce dependence on negative emission technologies and make the curve of global emission reductions clearer and easier to project.Full launch of GEI is expected to move the peak of global CO2 emissions to around 2025 and set it on a steep downward track to a level of approximately 30 billion tons by 2030, which is lower than the level projected based on NDCs (See Fig.2).(According to report of the UNFCCC Secretariat and UNEP, total global GHG emissions are expected to be 56.2 billion tons of CO2 equivalent by 2030.)By 2050, global CO2 emissions will drop further to 11.8 billion tons, half the amount of 1990, and zero net emissions are expected by approximately 2065 [11].

4 Position and role of GEI in international climate governance

Global climate governance is a dynamic process led by parties of the United Nations Framework convention on Climate Change, where multiple stakeholders jointly address and respond to climate change through mechanisms in and out of the convention.The objective of the convention is to “reduce GHG emissions, reduce anthropogenic hazards to the climate system, mitigate climate change,improve adaptation of the ecosystem to climate change,and ensure food safety and sustainable development” [12].The Paris Agreement sets specific and near-term targets in line with the objective of the convention to facilitate implementation.The Paris Agreement aims to “hold the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels”, “reach global peaking of greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible,” and achieve zero net greenhouse gas emissions by the end of the century.Participants in global climate governance include governments of sovereign states, intergovernmental organizations, and non-state actors.Governments of sovereign states are the main actors.While considering their respective development conditions and needs, they participate in international climate governance through United Nations climate negotiations and other intergovernmental consultation mechanisms.Intergovernmental organizations work to balance the interests of the various countries, institutions,and organizations involved.As far as climate change is concerned, the secretariat of UNFCCC is the major entity responsible for international climate governance, while other organizations such as the IPCC, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the International Energy Agency (IEA) are also making active efforts to facilitate the process.Non-state actors include enterprises,non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and civil society organizations engaged in international climate governance.They contribute to the process by taking actions on their own and by urging governments to take more active actions.

4.1 Mechanism of the convention

The convention was adopted and ratified in 1992, taking effect on March 21 1994 and becoming an important legal basis of international climate governance.The objective of the convention is “to achieve…stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system.Such a level should be achieved within a time frame sufficient to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change, to ensure that food production is not threatened, and to enable economic development to proceed in a sustainable manner.” It does not specify the target concentration level, which reflects the uncertainties surrounding this issue in the academic circle.However, this concentration level bears substantial significance not only scientifically but also economically.Once determined, it will exert great impact on economic activities around the world.

The Kyoto Protocol adopted at the third Conference of Parties (COP3) held for the first time in Kyoto, Japan, in 1997, stipulated legally binding emission reduction targets for Annex-I countries (developed nations and nations with economies in transition) and introduced three flexible mechanisms of emissions trading, joint implementation, and clean development (CDM).In 2007, at COP13, parties to the convention adopted the Bali Action Plan, charting the path and the basic framework for the international climate system for 2012–2020 and bringing the United States back into negotiations.In 2011, COP17 in Durban forged the Durban authorization, which opened negotiations towards an international climate system beyond 2020.There were also discussions on how to enhance emission reduction actions prior to 2020.At COP18 in Doha, the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol was launched,and consensuses were reached by all parties, including the United States, on pre-2020 emission reduction targets,adaptation mechanisms, funding mechanisms, and technical cooperation mechanisms.A decision was made to establish a working group for long-term cooperative actions.Then,in 2015, the Paris Agreement was concluded to clarify the major institutional basis of international climate governance until 2030.With the efforts of all state parties, international climate negotiation forged ahead amid disputes, served as the core platform for international climate governance,and continuously reinforced and laid legal foundations for relevant international cooperation.Climate change is not a regional problem and cannot be addressed by any one country alone.Every country emits GHGs and all face risks due to climate change.Climate governance, therefore,requires efforts from all countries.The aim is to improve the cooperation platform of UNFCCC, promote the leading role of international climate governance, fulfill emission reduction targets, and ensure climate safety.

4.2 Extra-convention mechanisms

Extra-convention mechanisms refer to the activities and practices carried out by various parties outside of the framework of UNFCCC in order to advance negotiations within it.Supplementary to UNFCCC mechanisms, they help state parties better understand one another and facilitate agreement.Such mechanisms can take many forms and may have different positions and functions.In nature, there are political, technical, and economic extra-convention mechanisms.

Political extra-convention mechanisms mainly include the UN Climate Summit, the Millennium Development Goals Summit, the Major Economies Forum onEnergyandClimate (MEF), G20, G8, and the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting, among others.They all feature participation by heads of states or high-level government officials and agreements on major topics, but generally do not discuss technical details.Political extra-convention mechanisms are mainly concerned with overarching, longterm, and political issues.As their participants are high-level officials or even heads of states, they usually solve problems that hinder negotiations of UNFCCC technical groups and thus facilitate negotiations.

Technical extra-convention mechanisms mainly include the cooperation mechanism of ICAO, IMO, the Secretary General’s High-Level Advisory Group on Climate Change Financing, and other organizations.They study and discuss specific issues during negotiations under the UNFCCC framework and provide their findings and outcomes to UNFCCC to help advance negotiations.

Economic extra-convention mechanisms include such extra-convention consultation mechanisms as climate change-related trading mechanisms, standard development regarding production activities, and market exploration at home and abroad.Economic incentives, as side topics in negotiations under the UNFCCC framework, are usually not the focus but are highly relevant to real economic performance and the development of relevant industries and sectors.Trading mechanisms, standard making mechanisms,and the like have been running for quite a long time and precede the international climate change governance mechanism.Yet before the climate change governance mechanism was implemented, these mechanisms had blurry boundaries and followed different principles, so consultation within such mechanisms covers an array of technical,political, and principle topics.

4.3 GEI in international climate governance

Major participants of GEI are companies in the energy,technology, and finance industries, or non-state actors in the international governance system (See Fig.3).In international climate governance, they do not shoulder major responsibilities like governments do, but the Paris Agreement encourages them and counts on them to fill the gap left by NDCs.Moreover, innovative solutions offered by GEI for emission reductions can also contribute to international climate governance.

In nature, GEI is a technical extra-convention mechanism and its position in global climate governance should be similar to that of the IEA or International Renewable Energy.It offers technical solutions for international climate governance through the comprehensive application of renewable energy technologies, high-voltage power transmission, and other advanced energy technologies.Meanwhile, by describing and explaining the prospect and potential of the technical solution, it also provides a pathway to implementation and builds confidence in the international community, thus furthering international climate governance.

Fig.3 Climate governance mechanisms beyond the Convention

Source: drawn by the authors

In terms of its functions, GEI takes emission reduction actions.Furthermore, it can act as a coordinator to build bridges between international energy governance and international climate governance.GEI has many energy companies, power grid companies, and energy equipment manufacturers as its members.If the development ideas,objectives, and action plans of this organization can be aligned with the objectives of the Paris Agreement and actions within its framework, its many member enterprises may be motivated to launch specific activities around the world to fulfil the objective of the Paris Agreement and become leaders of climate actions at the intersection of energy and climate.

5 Pathway and mechanism for GEI to participate in international climate governance

After more than 20 years of development, global climate governance has developed a compound structure consisting of multiple tiers, multiple circles, and multiple actors.As a new participant, GEI needs to propose a constructive and innovative new solution.In the meantime, it must have full contact with and align with existing climate governance mechanisms so as to communicate innovative solutions to the international community, have them fully understood and accepted, and enable joint implementation.

5.1 Build working mechanism with UNFCCC

UNFCCC is the major platform for international climate governance and GEI may align with it in terms of mechanism, agenda, and personnel to contribute to implementation of the convention and the Paris Agreement.

A mechanism for regular high-level mutual visits may be implemented between GEI and the UNFCCC Secretariat to facilitate communication and mutual support between the two organizations.GEI may support capacity building and exchange events organized by UNFCCC with funding,technology, manpower, or in other forms.The UNFCCC Secretariat may send delegations to support high-level forums, roadshows, and other activities hosted by GEI to promote the advanced concept of GEI and relevant concrete actions, facilitate its building and operation, and contribute to higher cost-effectiveness of emission reductions.

In terms of agenda issues of global climate governance,GEI may work closely with UNFCCC on all major issues,including mitigation, adaptation, funding, technology,transparency, capacity building, and global inventory.For mitigation, it can provide an ultra-low emission scenario for global application of low-carbon energy to build confidence in fulfilling the targets of the Paris Agreement.For adaptation, GEI improves regional power grids, expands their coverage, enhances the resulting benefits, and increases the socioeconomic resilience of the regions of interest.For funding, a request may be made to create an investment fund that supports both mitigation and adaptation to secure additional funding for climate governance.In terms of technology and capacity building, GEI may provide global standards and organize training sessions and other capacity building activities.As for transparency and global inventory,GEI can provide data of the global energy network and realtime monitoring and contribute to relevant statistics and computing methodologies.

In terms of personnel exchange, mutual visits for technical purposes are suggested.Through Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organization(GEIDCO), the implementing entity for GEI may send people to relevant departments of the UNFCCC Secretariat to learn how it can provide better services and bettertargeted support to UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement.The UNFCCC Secretariat may also send people to GEI for exchanges to better identify common concerns and launch cooperative actions.

5.2 Integration into the extra-UNFCCC mechanism and governance system

Extra-convention governance mechanisms are good supplements to the UNFCCC and important platforms that promote the implementation of the convention and the Paris Agreement.Among the various extra-convention mechanisms, IPCC is currently the most important partner for GEI.IPCC organizes scientists from around the world to compile climate change assessment reports, five of which have been published so far.By doing so, IPCC plays an irreplaceable leading role in promoting scientific understanding of climate change in the international community.In IPCC’s assessment reports, there are dedicated chapters discussing the different scenarios with future GHG emission reduction measures, including the different reduction levels that various technical combinations may generate.GEI is not yet included in any of the scenarios already published, either alone or in combination with other emission reduction measures.To fully reflect the positive effect that GEI may exert, GEI needs to be incorporated by IPCC reports to include relevant scenarios, adaptation technologies, and socioeconomic impact assessments.Specifically, GEI should be introduced and have its research findings published to attract attention from IPCC and be cited in IPCC reports; this will garner more attention and support from the international community.As well as IPCC, GEI should also combine with other international organizations and events, such as the IEA, G20, and MEF, establishing mechanisms for regular exchanges and cooperation.This will introduce and showcase the concept,effect, and significance of GEI in a comprehensive manner through cooperative research programs, joint actions,experience sharing, and other activities, creating a positive environment for the development of GEI.

5.3 Launch cooperative actions with regional organizations and major countries

The value of a new concept is clear only when it is put into practice.GEI needs to be practically applied in different regions and countries before people witness its capacity to reduce emissions.Thus, it is necessary that GEI reach out to regional organizations or industrial organizations of different regions, establish institutional contact with them, and launch joint projects.Joint projects may also be launched with the UNDP, World Bank, African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, and other international organizations.Moreover, bilateral relations should be built with key countries and those with a strong regional influence in order to facilitate regional demonstration projects and key projects at crucial nodes.

6 Conclusion

GEI, as an innovative solution for global climate governance, is technically feasible and cost-effective,has huge potential for emission reduction, and can ensure the fulfillment of Paris Agreement objectives.More recognition, acceptance, and support are required from the international community to enable more rapid and improved developed of GEI around the world, showcase its potential for emission reduction, and ensure climate safety.It is important to initiate contact and coordination between GEI and UNFCCC, as well as existing international climate governance mechanisms, and build ties and cooperation mechanisms with various institutions, regional organizations, and national governments.This will garner support from more parties to develop GEI and share the achievements of climate governance.

Acknowledgements

This research was funded by “Dynamic Analysis on China’s Role and Position in International Climate Negotiation and Negotiation Strategy Study”, a key program of the National Social Science Foundation (16AGJ011);a science and technology project of the Global Energy Interconnection Group Co., Ltd.(GEIC-E[2017]060);“Studies on Imperative Major Issues in Addressing Climate Change after COP21”, a special program for reform and development of the Ministry of Science and Technology;and the China Clean Development Mechanism Fund(2013070).