Press conference on promoting ecological progress and building of a beautiful China
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E-mail China.org.cn, October 4, 2019
The Straits Times:
Does the recent speech made by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the UN headquarters indicate that China may probably reach the peak of carbon dioxide emission ahead of the 2030 schedule?
Li Ganjie:
The Chinese government has always placed great importance on addressing climate change. President Xi Jinping stressed several times that addressing climate change is not a task imposed on us by others, but a cause we are willing to fight for. To act on climate change is driven by China's domestic needs for sustainable and high-quality development. And we have been taking action all along.
The UN Climate Action Summit was held at the UN headquarters in New York on Sept. 23, 2019. President Xi Jinping's special representative, State Councilor Wang Yi attended and addressed the summit. In his speech, Wang explained China's stance and proposals on addressing climate change. He said that the joint fight against climate change requires us to uphold multilateralism, follow the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities," and respect the need for development and the special conditions of developing countries. Besides, developed countries should help developing countries build up their preparedness.
Wang also said that as a responsible member of the international community, China honors its words and continues to take action on climate change. No matter how the international landscape may evolve, there will be no change in China's efforts to fight climate change, its readiness to deepen climate cooperation with other countries, or its commitment to the multilateral process on climate change.
In recent years, China has made great efforts to combat climate change, during which marked achievements have been made. In 2018, the share of China's non-fossil fuels in primary energy consumption reached 14.3 percent; CO2 emissions per unit of GDP dropped by 45.8 percent from the 2005 level; forest stock increased by 4.56 billion cubic meters from 2005. All these are considerable achievements. In the same year, a total of 1.25 million electric vehicles were sold in China, far more than in any other country. We have made great efforts in emissions reduction, carbon sinks and forest stocks, and have achieved very good results.
Here I must make clear that, as the biggest developing country in the world, China has achieved the above accomplishments through arduous efforts and hard work, instead of empty talk. As the biggest developing country, China has been faced with many difficulties and challenges in its economic and social development. It is not easy for us to achieve our goals. But of course, China will faithfully fulfill our obligations under the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement, and achieve, as scheduled, its intended nationally determined contributions targets submitted to the UNFCCC secretariat. Meanwhile, China will keep taking action on climate change. That's all for my answer, thank you.
Tian Yuhong:
Thanks again to the three speakers, and thank you all. Today's press conference concludes here.
Translated and edited by Chen Xia, Guo Yiming, Fan Junmei, Cui Can, Gong Yingchun, Zhu Bochen, Zhang Rui, Li Xiao, Li Huiru, Wang Yanfang, Wang Wei, He Shan, Zhang Junmian, Zhou Jing, Wang Qian, Huang Shan, Kenneth Teh Chiu Soong. In case of any dispute over a discrepancy, the Chinese version is deemed to prevail.
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