SCIO briefing on China's policies and actions for addressing climate change
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E-mail China.org.cn, November 28, 2019
China News Service:
What progress has China made in tackling climate change since 2018? What are the problems it faces? As the relevant authority to deal with climate change, what are next steps that the Ministry of Ecology and Environment is considering? Thank you.
Zhao Yingmin:
The work to deal with climate change is a very important function that has been undertaken by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment after China's institutional reform. Under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, all departments and localities have actively implemented the goals and tasks set out in the 13th Five-Year Plan for controlling greenhouse gas emissions, and the country's response to climate change has since achieved significant results. The annual report released today comprehensively reflects the specific contents of these results. There are six main aspects:
First, efforts to mitigate climate change have been comprehensively advanced. The carbon intensity reduction goal of the 13th Five-Year Plan has been continuously pursued. According to preliminary calculations, the national carbon intensity decreased by 45.8% in 2018 compared to 2005, maintaining a continuous decline. Moreover, this number has already reached the stated commitment of a 40% reduction in carbon intensity from the 2005 level, ahead of the scheduled timetable of 2020, basically reversing the rapid growth of greenhouse gas emissions. And the proportion of non-fossil energy in energy consumption reached 14.3%.
Second, the work to adapt to climate change has been carried out in an orderly way. Adaptation and mitigation work are equally important. A lot of work has been done in the areas of agriculture, water resources, forests, oceans, human health, disaster prevention and reduction to adapt to climate change and positive progress has been made. The pilot work on climate-adaptive cities has continued to deepen. China has also participated in launching the Global Commission on Adaptation to actively promote international cooperation in adapting to climate change.
Third, the system and mechanism for coping with climate change are being continuously improved. We have continuously strengthened the overall planning and coordination of our response to climate change and ecological environmental protection. In addition, we have improved the working mechanism of the leading group of climate change, energy saving and emission reduction. The leading group will generally take on the leadership role while each competent authority will be performing its own functions. Various departments will coordinate with each other and all localities will participate comprehensively. This working mechanism for tackling climate change has already taken initial shape. At present, institutional reforms and functional adjustments for tackling climate change have been completed across the country.
Fourth, the building of the carbon market has continued to advance. The carbon emissions accounting report guidelines for 24 industries as well as the 13 national standards for carbon emissions accounting have been released one after the another. The construction of relevant systems, infrastructure and capacity in the carbon market has been progressing steadily.
Fifth, China actively participates in global climate governance. In the negotiation of the implementation details of the Paris Agreement, we have proposed China's solutions and made important contributions to the success of the negotiations. Adhering to the principles of multilateralism and "common but differentiated responsibilities," China has continuously played an important and constructive role in global climate governance.
Sixth, publicity on climate change has continued to be strengthened. In this regard, I would like to thank all the friends in the media. Various departments and localities now actively carry out "National Low Carbon Day" activities. They also organize a variety of content-rich publicity activities, and inform society in a timely manner of the latest progress made in tackling climate change. Through efforts in recent years, the public's awareness towards tackling climate change is continuously increasing.
However, while seeing such progress and achievements, we are also soberly aware that as the largest developing country in the world, China has made arduous efforts to attain these goals. Let me give a few examples. For example, we have adopted strong measures such as phasing out outdated production capacity, promoting the replacement of clean energy for coal in heating, and shutting down small, poorly-managed, and heavily-polluting enterprises. We have also vigorously promoted the adjustment of China's industry and energy structures. In addition, we have promoted energy conservation, improved energy efficiency, and promoted low-carbon transformation in various places. There has been a lot of hardships and hard work put in during this process. I just told all of you that the carbon intensity in 2018 decreased by about 4% year-on-year, exceeding the annual target by 0.1 percentage point, and marking a cumulative decrease of 45.8% compared with 2005. This figure means China has reduced the carbon dioxide emissions of 5.26 billion tons, and the non-fossil energy accounts for 14.3% of total energy consumption. Therefore, it is not easy to make such achievements. It also demonstrates the Chinese government's effectiveness in promoting the green, circular and low-carbon development .
Meanwhile, the tasks facing us, including advancing economic development, improving people's living standards, eradicating poverty and pursuing better environmental governance, are huge and complicated. Despite the multitude of difficulties and challenges, we are resolved to tackle climate change with full confidence. We will stay committed to addressing climate change as we have promised to the international community. We will boost low-carbon economic transformation and pursue high-quality development.
As our next step, we will continue to deepen the implementation of ecological conservation guided by Xi Jinping's thinking on promoting ecological progress and the principles formulated at the national conference on ecological and environmental protection. We will firmly act on the decisions and deployment made in the meetings of the leading group of climate change, energy saving and emission reduction. We will stay committed to the implementation of national strategies on climate change. While upholding multilateralism, we will continue to play an active and constructive role in international negotiations. We will continue to take measures to fulfill our promises on Nationally Determined Contributions. Climate change should be taken into consideration while we make national economic and social development plans. We should intensify our control over greenhouse gas emissions, enhance our capacities of adapting to climate change, carry out South-South cooperation to address climate change, and promote green and low-carbon lifestyles to pursue continuous progress in this regard. Thank you.
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