Some questioned China's ambitions to tackle climate change, and the Foreign Ministry spokesperson gave a lecture on knowledge popularization at the press conference

Source: World Wide Web

On November 1, foreign media asked at a regular press conference of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that some critics believe that China is "not ambitious enough" in dealing with climate change, and will China announce specific rules on how to achieve emission reduction targets in the upcoming COP26?

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Wang Wenbin said in his reply that I have just introduced the important speech delivered by President Xi Jinping at the G20 Leaders' Summit in Rome, and put forward China's proposals and initiatives on caring for the earth's homeland and promoting the construction of a community of human and natural life. These important proposals of President Xi Jinping also point out the key to the success of the 26th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and strongly promote the efforts of the international community to jointly address climate change. So, I would also like to take this opportunity to introduce to you the effective measures and practical contributions made by China in addressing the issue of climate change.

Wang Wenbin said that China has always been an activist in climate governance, taking the initiative to assume international responsibilities in line with national conditions, and constantly increasing self-pressure to improve the intensity of action to deal with climate change. Since September last year, President Xi Jinping has successively announced the goal vision of China's carbon peak carbon neutrality, put forward a series of nationally determined contribution targets and specific policy measures, involving domestic coal power and coal consumption, and no longer building new overseas coal power projects, demonstrating China's firm determination to cope with climate change. Recently, China has also issued the Opinions on The Complete, Accurate and Comprehensive Implementation of the New Development Concept to Achieve Carbon Neutrality, the Carbon Peak Action Plan by 2030 and the White Paper on China's Policies and Actions to Address Climate Change, and formally submitted to the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change China's implementation of the Nationally Determined Contribution and new targets, as well as China's long-term greenhouse gas low-emission development strategy for the middle of this century, which are specific measures for China to implement the Paris Agreement. It reflects China's responsibility and latest contribution to the global response to climate change.

Wang Wenbin said that a set of figures can be used as a comparison: developed countries, from carbon peak to carbon neutrality, the European Union will use 71 years, the United States will use 43 years, Japan will use 37 years, while China has set a time for itself to be only 30 years, and the time used by the Eu, the United States and Japan is 2.4 times, 1.4 times and 1.2 times that of China, respectively.

Wang Wenbin said that as the world's largest developing country, China will complete the reduction of the world's highest carbon emission intensity and achieve carbon peak to carbon neutrality in the shortest time in global history, which requires China to make painstaking efforts and fully reflects China's responsible major country responsibility on this issue.

Wang Wenbin said that I would also like to point out that scientific research shows that global warming is the result of cumulative greenhouse gas emissions. In the process of industrialization in the past 200 years, developed countries have been emitting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and have an unshirkable historical responsibility for global climate change. For example, the per capita historical cumulative emissions of the United States are 8 times that of China, and the United States has historically refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol and withdraw from the Paris Agreement, which has seriously damaged the confidence and effectiveness of global cooperation in addressing climate change.

Wang Wenbin stressed that the current climate change has brought severe challenges to the survival and development of mankind, and all countries need to work together to deal with it. Developed countries, including the United States, should earnestly follow the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, face up to their historical responsibilities, show greater ambition and action, and take the lead in undertaking the obligation to significantly reduce emissions. At the same time, in terms of financial, technical and capacity-building, we will effectively help developing countries to improve their capacity to cope with the challenges of climate change.