China expected to boost climate action momentum

Note: The following article is taken from the Chinese-language "Commentaries on International Affairs."

When attending the Climate Action Summit at the United Nations headquarters in New York on Monday, Chinese President Xi Jinping's special representative, Foreign Minister Wang Yi reaffirmed China’s stance that it will fulfill its obligations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement, and achieve the goal of its intended nationally determined contributions. The statement sends out positive signal that the world’s second largest economy remains committed to action on climate change.

A young couple take a wedding picture at the spot where a tree will be planted as part of their commitment to a low-emission lifestyle in northwest China’s Gansu Province, April 21, 2019. The planting of the tree in forest number 241, is part of the Ant Forest scheme, which was launched on the Alipay mobile payment system, by Ant Financial of the Alibaba Group in August 2016 to encourage low-emission lifestyles in China. As of April 2019, 100 million trees had reportedly been planted, covering a total area of over 900 square kilometers, which is about the size of 130,000 soccer fields. [Photo: IC]

According to a special report released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change last year, global warming is likely to reach 1.5 degrees Celsius between 2030 and 2052 if it continues to increase at the current pace and may reach 2 degrees Celsius at a date earlier than expected. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also revealed in May that atmospheric CO2 concentrations reached a record high level of 415 ppm for the first time in human history. These facts mean extreme weather conditions such as global droughts and extreme cold will become more frequent, with the hottest June ever recorded in Earth’s history in Europe this year a good example. Climate change will also trigger problems in such fields as energy, water and food security, leaving no countries unaffected.

Faced with these challenges, China has made tackling climate change an inherent requirement for achieving sustainable development and building a community with a shared future for humanity. Beijing has made construction of ecological civilization a national strategy. The country has become the world’s top player in energy conservation and renewable energy utilization. Since 2000, around a quarter of the world’s newly increased green leaf area is located in China. In 2015, China submitted its carbon-curbing plan to the United Nations, saying it will work hard to peak emissions earlier than the 2030 target, cut its greenhouse gas emissions per unit of gross domestic product by 60-65% from 2005 levels, and increase the share of non-fossil fuels as part of its primary energy consumption to about 20 percent by 2030. President Xi Jinping reaffirmed these promises when attending the Paris Climate Change Conference in November in the same year.

Prior to this summit in New York, Beijing released an action plan revolving around the summit's nine action areas, promising to the international community that China will honor its promises and be resolute in its action in the course of tackling climate change. China’s role of co-leading nature-based solutions to climate change has been positively recognized by participating countries. UN Secretary General António Guterres said China's leadership role in climate action is of vital importance.

International climate governance has reached a critical stage. Washington’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement cannot reverse the global trend of low emission development. An increasing number of countries are committed to raise their emission reduction targets with the hope of achieving positive results in the upcoming 25th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Santiago. To achieve the goals, all parties need to abide by the principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities. Beijing has called for the developed countries to deliver on their promises to mobilize 100 billion U.S. dollars every year by 2020, and to transfer advanced technologies to developing countries, so as to enhance their capacity to cope with climate change.

Deeds are fruits, words are but leaves. As former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon once said, we are the first generation that can eradicate poverty and the last generation to address climate change before it’s too late, every country needs to come up with actions to push forward the effective implementation of the Paris Agreement. China’s adherence to green development and its national strategy of building ecological civilization are expected to inject continuous positive momentum into tackling the challenge.