Source: People's Daily
The twenty-sixth conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change will be held in Glasgow, United Kingdom. On October 27, the Information Office of the State Council released the white paper "China's Policies and Actions to Address Climate Change" and held a press conference to introduce the relevant situation of the white paper and answer reporters' questions.
"This is the second time since 2011 that China has released a white paper on China's response to climate change from the national level." Ye Min, vice minister of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, said that the white paper fully demonstrates China's progress and effectiveness in responding to climate change, as well as its outstanding contributions to global climate governance, and systematically reflects China's propositions, wisdom and solutions for responding to climate change.
Basically reverse the rapid growth of carbon dioxide emissions
"As an active promoter and firm practitioner of climate action, in recent years, China has implemented a national strategy to actively address climate change, adopted a series of policy measures such as adjusting the industrial structure, optimizing the energy structure, saving energy and improving energy efficiency, establishing market mechanisms, and increasing forest carbon sinks, and has made positive progress in various work." Ye Min said.
Greenhouse gas emissions are effectively controlled. In 2020, China's carbon emission intensity was reduced by 18.8% compared with 2015 and 48.4% lower than in 2005, exceeding the target of 40%-45% promised to the international community, and basically reversing the rapid growth of carbon dioxide emissions.
The optimization of the energy structure has achieved results。 "In 2020, China's non-fossil energy accounted for 15.9% of energy consumption, an increase of 8.5 percentage points over 2005, the dependence on coal consumption decreased significantly, and the optimization of energy structure achieved obvious results." Ye Min said.
The national carbon market is constantly improving. On July 16 this year, the national carbon emission trading market officially launched online trading, and the first performance cycle included 2162 key emitters in the power generation industry, covering more than 4.5 billion tons of carbon emissions per year, which is the largest carbon market in the world covering greenhouse gas emissions.
In addition, China's low-carbon pilot demonstration work has been continuously promoted, the ability to adapt to climate change has been continuously improved, and the awareness of low carbon in the whole society has also been continuously improved. While doing a good job in domestic climate change, China actively participates in leading global climate governance. It has played a historic role in promoting the conclusion, entry into force and implementation of the Paris Agreement.
Steadily and orderly promote the realization of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality
The white paper points out that China is the largest developing country with a population of more than 1.4 billion and faces a series of arduous tasks such as developing the economy, improving people's livelihood, pollution control, and ecological protection. Nevertheless, in order to achieve the goal of addressing climate change, China has faced difficulties and actively formulated and implemented a series of strategies, regulations, policies, standards and actions to deal with climate change, so as to promote new progress in China's climate change response practice.
Ye Min said that taking more vigorous actions to deal with climate change and fully tapping the huge potential of greenhouse gas emission reduction brought about by new economy, new technology, new format development, institutional policy innovation, and reform in various fields is an important driving force for promoting high-quality development.
"China plans to achieve carbon peaking to carbon neutrality in about 30 years, which is much shorter than that of major developed countries, and faces more difficult energy and industrial transformation tasks." Ye Min said that in the process of promoting the realization of carbon peak and carbon neutrality, it is necessary to realistically base ourselves on China's national conditions, development stages and actual capabilities, adhere to the system concept, handle well the relationship between development and emission reduction, overall and partial, short-term and medium-term, and be sound and orderly, scientifically deployed, and solidly promoted.
The next step will be to further implement the decision-making and deployment of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, decompose the binding target of 18% reduction in carbon intensity in the "14th Five-Year Plan" to the local level for implementation; promote the implementation of the "1+n" policy system of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality; comprehensively promote the work related to climate change and ecological environmental protection; strengthen the construction of relevant systems; continue to improve the national carbon market; and enhance the low-carbon awareness of the whole people.
Promote the joint construction of a fair, reasonable, win-win global climate governance system
The white paper points out that as a responsible country, China actively promotes the joint construction of a fair, reasonable, win-win global climate governance system, and contributes China's wisdom and Chinese strength to combat climate change.
The 26th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the first conference of the Parties to the Paris Agreement since its implementation phase, will conclude negotiations on the remaining issues of the implementation rules of the Paris Agreement. "We expect all parties to move in the same direction, and developed countries should fully demonstrate positive and constructive and flexible, follow the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, adhere to the nationally determined nature of national goals and policies, and avoid further retrogression of positions on issues on which principles have been agreed, or even reopen negotiations." Sun Zhen, head of the Department of Climate Change of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, said.
"China advocates that the conference should send a strong political signal to firmly uphold multilateralism and respect multilateral rules, and that all parties should implement the principles of common but differentiated responsibilities established by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement and the institutional arrangements for nationally determined contributions, and contribute to the response to global climate change on the basis of respecting different national conditions." Ye Min said.
Sun Zhen said that China is willing to work with the United Kingdom, the presidency of the Conference, to adhere to the multilateral rules of procedure of openness, transparency, extensive participation, party-driven and consensus, maintain close communication and coordination, and promote the completion of the negotiation of the remaining issues in the implementation rules of the Paris Agreement.