China is "not ambitious enough" to deal with climate change? Wang Wenbin cites data in response

The Paper's senior reporter Yu Xiaoqing and reporter Xu Zhenhua

On November 1, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin presided over a regular press conference. A reporter asked, some criticized that China's nationally determined contribution to the climate target is "not ambitious enough", what is China's response to this? Does China have any plans to announce specific rules on how to achieve the emission reduction target at the upcoming COP26 meeting?

Wang Wenbin said 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 propositions and initiatives on caring for the earth's homeland and promoting the construction of a community of human and natural life. These important ideas 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 international community's joint efforts to deal with climate change. I would also like to take this opportunity to introduce China's effective measures and practical contributions to addressing climate change.

Wang Wenbin introduced 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 vision of China's carbon peak and carbon neutrality, and put forward a series of nationally determined contribution targets and specific policy measures, involving domestic coal power and coal consumption, and no new overseas coal power projects, demonstrating China's firm determination to deal 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 Action Plan for Carbon Peaking 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 the "New Measures for China's Implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions and New Targets" and the "China's Long-term Greenhouse Gas Low Emission Development Strategy for the Middle of this Century". These are all concrete measures taken by China to implement the Paris Agreement, reflecting China's responsibility and latest contribution to the global response to climate change.

Wang Wenbin said that regarding the great contribution made by China on this issue, I can give you a set of figures as a comparison: from carbon peaking to carbon neutrality in developed countries, the European Union will take 71 years, the United States will use 43 years, Japan will use 37 years, while China has set for only 30 years, and the time used by the European Union, the United States and Japan will be 2.4 times, 1.4 times and 1.2 times that of China, respectively. As the world's largest developing country, China will complete the world's highest carbon emission intensity reduction 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. I would also like to point out that scientific studies have shown that global warming is the result of cumulative emissions of greenhouse gases. In the past 200 years of industrialization, developed countries have been emitting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, and they have an unshirkable historical responsibility for global climate change. For example, the united states has historically accumulated emissions eight times that of China, and historically the United States has 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 brings severe challenges to the survival and development of mankind, which requires all countries to work together to deal with it, and 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 of significant emission reductions. 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.

Editor-in-Charge: Su Yangfan