News Lounge｜Former UNEP official: The narrative of the Global South as 'recipients of climate aid' is outdated, and joint efforts in climate governance are needed

By Wei Yuan, Wang Gaofei and Wu Xinru

(ECNS) -- "In climate collaborations and partnerships, Global South nations must be co-creators," said Rajendra Shende, former head of the Ozone Action Programme at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), who stressed that countries of the Global South should build delivery-focused partnerships to translate climate pledges into tangible outcomes.

The China-Türkiye Dialogue on Ecological Civilization and Green Transition was held in Istanbul, Türkiye on Nov. 12, during the 31st Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP31).

The event is co-hosted by China News Service and the Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, co-organized by China News Network and the Policy Research Center for Environment and Economy of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (PRCEE).

This marks the second multilateral event of China News Service's News Lounge series held in Türkiye. Representatives from government departments, research institutions, enterprises and media organizations of China and Türkiye attended the dialogue.

Shende made the above remarks in his video address to the dialogue.

He noted that humanity has registered remarkable advances in science, technology and industry, yet our understanding of coexisting harmoniously with nature still needs to evolve. This, he said, is at the heart of the challenge for ecological civilization and human-nature coexistence.

Ecological civilization goes far beyond a green economy; its essence lies in reshaping the relationship between human development and the natural world.

In his view, China's commitment to ecological civilization and harmony between humanity and nature provides vital philosophical underpinnings.

As host of COP31, Türkiye can help turn dialogue into cooperation and action, he said.

Shende argued that the long-standing narrative framing the Global South merely as recipients of climate finance and technology assistance is outdated. The Global South itself is a cradle of innovation, boasting manufacturing capacity, indigenous traditional knowledge and young talent.

China, India, Türkiye, alongside nations across Latin America, Africa and Central Asia, can forge synergy: India can leverage its strengths in human capital and innovation, China can provide green technology support, and Türkiye can serve as a cross-regional bridge linking Africa, Latin America, Pacific island states and other Asian countries.

As a leading authority on ozone layer protection and global climate governance, Shende played a central role in negotiating and rolling out the Montreal Protocol worldwide.

For environmental diplomacy to succeed, he stressed, international agreements must serve as vehicles for transformative partnerships rather than declaratory statements. All parties should uphold the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respect differing national circumstances and capacities.

During his address, he called on Global South nations to form a partnership for ecological action to deliver on climate pledges.

"The 21st century should not be remembered as a century when humanity became technologically powerful, but ecologically powerless. Let it be remembered as a century when humanity finally learned a lesson to use its technological intelligence in harmony with nature's inclusions from ecological civilization," he said.

He expressed hope that local transformations can converge into global action so that the voice of the Global South resonates loud and clear at COP31.