UK official calls for climate change risk control
- By Zhang Junmian
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E-mail China.org.cn, July 6, 2015
The project was approved at the G7 summit in June and it will bring countries together to spend a yearly research fund of 15 billion pounds to achieve this objective in ten years.
King said, "We hope China will join the project."
King commended China's efforts in fighting climate change by shifting from fossil fuel-based development to fossil fuel-free development. He said, "I believe that since 2005, China has been working hard on the transition from fossil fuels to renewables."
"We warmly commend China for the introduction of the notion of ecological civilization. Managing ecosystems alongside human wellbeing is the only way we can move forward in the 21st century. We must learn from China on that as well.
"I welcome the statement that China [China's carbon dioxide emissions] will peak around the year 2030. This is the first statement from China on absolute emissions," King said.
China has set a target for its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to peak around 2030 or even earlier and cut CO2 emissions per unit of GDP by 60-65 percent from the 2005 level. The country will also increase the proportion of non-fossil fuels in primary energy consumption to about 20 percent.
It has also implemented the carbon trade system in seven areas across the country in its transition to a low-carbon economy.
King also gave some suggestions on how big Chinese cities such as Beijing and Shanghai can cut air pollution and improve air quality.
He said that Britain will produce 100 percent of its electricity from zero-emission sources by 2050 to curb emissions of particular matter which would be a health concern. In this way, it can move the ground transport system onto the electricity grid 100 percent and stop using oil for transport.
The government also encourages more people to travel by bicycle, walk, and use mass transit.
King stressed, "In London, we have introduced a congestion charge for cars coming into the city center, very heavy charges."
King, who is also chairman of the Future Cities Catapult, believes urban development should focus on sustainability, low-carbon development and human well-being.
He took the design of medieval cities in Europe as an example to showcase how future cities could be designed.
He said, "The medieval cities of the past have many advantages for the 21st century. Those cities were designed at a time when people had to walk from their place of living to their place of work, to their places of leisure, to schools, and to hospitals and so on. And all the facilities were within walking distance."
"Now in Europe, we are beginning to transfer medieval cities back into walkable and cyclable areas. We could design cities around human wellbeing from the beginning," King underlined.
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