China and the UN hold joint climate transparency workshop for developing countries
Under a new partnership with UN Climate Change, China is helping to strengthen climate transparency under the Paris Agreement as it sets its sights on global climate leadership
In its latest move to take on the mantle of global leader on climate change, China has hosted a workshop with 24 developing countries to strengthen climate transparency under the Paris Agreement.
The workshop, held over four days at the end of July, is the first activity delivered as part the partnership between China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment and UN Climate Change signed at COP30 in Brazil last November.
The training workshop for Asia, the Pacific and Eastern Europe in Wuhu brought together representatives from 24 developing countries, UN Climate Change, the UN Development Programme and other United Nations bodies, and focused on strengthening institutional and technical transparency under the Paris Agreement’s Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF).
At the workshop, participants exchanged experiences, good practices and lessons learned from implementing the ETF through country presentations, panel discussions, interactive exercises, technical clinics and peer-to-peer discussions.
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Biennial Transparency Reports – assessing progress and building trust
The cornerstone of the ETF are Paris Agreement signatories’ Biennial Transparency Reports, the formal mechanism through which countries report progress towards meeting their climate commitments under the treaty.
The 198 countries signed up to the Paris Agreement had originally been given a deadline of the end of 2024 to submit their first Biennial Transparency Reports (BTRs).
Opening the workshop, Xuehong Wang, director of transparency at UN Climate Change, noted that 134 parties had submitted their BTRs as of July 2026.
“As parties move towards preparing their second BTRs [which are due to be submitted on or before 31 December 2026], the exchange of experiences, good practices and lessons learned becomes even more relevant and important,” she said. “Transparency is not only a reporting requirement. It is also a strategic tool that helps countries assess progress, identify gaps, improve policies, attract support and investment, and build trust.”
Read more: UN hails leap forward in global climate action transparency
Green development in practice
The workshop included visits to Chery New Energy, the Wuhu Shipyard Research Institute and the Yangtze Riverside Protection initiative, which gave participants the opportunity to see examples of climate action and green development in practice.
Representatives from the Department of Ecology and Environment of Anhui Province and the Wuhu Municipal Government also shared examples of how coordinated policies, technological innovation and local implementation are advancing China’s green and low-carbon development.
“Participants highlighted the value of exchanging practical country experiences and learning directly from peers facing similar implementation challenges,” UN Climate Change said.
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‘Beginning of broader collaboration’ between China and UN Climate Change
“As the first activity delivered under the [partnership] signed at COP30, the workshop marks the beginning of broader collaboration between UN Climate Change and China to strengthen transparency-related capacity building. Through continued joint activities, the partnership aims to expand support for developing countries, foster peer learning and accelerate implementation of the ETF under the Paris Agreement,” the UN said.
At the workshop, Xia Yingxian, director-general of the Department of Climate Change at China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment, reaffirmed China’s long-standing commitment to South-South cooperation on climate action, and highlighted that China has trained more than 10,000 experts from developing countries.
“This has contributed to strengthening climate capacity and supporting sustainable development across the Global South,” the UN said.
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China’s global climate leadership bid
Ahead of the COP30 summit in November 2025, China appeared keen to take on the mantle of new global leader on climate change, stepping into the gap left by the US’s withdrawal from the top spot under Donald Trump.
China is the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitter but is positioning itself as a green tech superpower and making moves to shape the global agenda in favour of low-carbon technologies to bolster its trade interests.
In 2024, the country invested US$290bn in renewable energy – US$80bn more than the combined total of the EU, UK and the US.
In September last year, China set a target to cut carbon emissions for the first time – by between 7% and 10% of peak levels by 2035.
Read more: China commits to carbon reduction target for the first time
