The Ecological and Environmental Code establishes a standalone chapter on climate change response within the Book of Green and Low-Carbon Development, constructing a systematic codified framework for climate governance for the first time. This institutional innovation acquires particular significance as climate litigation in the Global South continues to grow. Such litigation is characterized by an 'objectivist' approach that embeds climate issues within existing legal disputes through rights-based strategies. The advisory opinions on climate change delivered by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and the International Court of Justice have reinforced this trend. However, they also pose common challenges to the Global South as a whole: the elevation of due diligence standards lacks corresponding financial and technological support, and the substantive function of the CBDR-RC principle faces the risk of being weakened. As a member of the Global South, China confronts rising climate litigation risks in host countries where it invests. At the same time, host country governments are also defendants in such litigation, presenting shared institutional challenges. This article argues that China should leverage the institutional instruments established by the Ecological and Environmental Code to address foreign-related climate litigation risks, and strengthen climate governance cooperation with Global South countries on this basis.
内容提要 《生态环境法典》“绿色低碳发展编”将应对气候变化独立成章，首次以法典形式构建了系统性的气候治理规范框架。这一制度创新在“全球南方”气候变化诉讼持续增长的背景下具有特殊意义。“全球南方”气候变化诉讼呈现出“客观说”特征，气候变化并非作为核心诉因提出，而是嵌入既有法律争端之中，诉讼当事方多采取权利进路寻求气候正义。国际海洋法法庭和国际法院就气候变化问题发表的咨询意见进一步强化了这一趋势，但亦对“全球南方”整体构成了共同挑战，勤勉义务标准的提升缺乏相应的资金和技术转让配套，共同但有区别的责任原则的实质性功能面临被弱化的风险。中国作为“全球南方”的成员，其海外投资项目在东道国面临的气候变化诉讼风险日益上升，而东道国政府自身亦为此类诉讼的被告方，双方面临共同的制度困境。本文主张，中国应充分运用《生态环境法典》所确立的制度工具应对涉外气候变化诉讼风险，并以法典为基础加强与"全球南方"国家的气候治理合作。