Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang has called on the world to actively increase the proportion of renewable energy and accelerate green transformation in the global fight against climate change.
Ding, also Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Special Representative, made the remarks Friday while addressing the World Climate Action Summit at the ongoing 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference – COP28 in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
More than 70,000 delegates from around the world have gathered in Dubai for the annual climate meeting scheduled from November 30 to December 12, where for the first time the world assesses how far off track it is to curb global warming.
A UN report released in late November shows that countries’ current pledges would put the world on track for a temperature rise of 2.5 degrees Celsius – 2.9 degrees Celsius by the end of this century, leaving the central goal of the 2015 Paris Agreement – 1.5 degrees Celsius – out of reach.
Ding stressed that mankind shares a common destiny in the face of the challenges from climate change, and all parties should strengthen their determination and capacity to jointly address it.
He put forward a three-point proposal. The first is to practice multilateralism, adhere to the goals and principles set out in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement, enhance solidarity and cooperation, and achieve mutual benefit and win-win results.
The second is to accelerate green transformation, actively increase the proportion of renewable energy, promote the clean, low-carbon and efficient use of traditional energy, and accelerate the formation of green and low-carbon production methods and lifestyles.
The third is to strengthen action implementation and fully honor the existing commitments. In particular, developed countries should effectively increase financial, technological and capacity building support to developing countries to turn vision into reality.
As a major responsible developing country, China stands ready to work with all parties to build a clean and beautiful world, he said.
China’s efforts in combating climate change
China has pledged to peak carbon emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, incorporating carbon emission reduction goals into the overall planning of economic and social development.
The 2023 annual report on China’s policies and actions to address climate change shows that the country’s carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP dropped by more than 51 percent in 2022 from its 2005 level.
While carbon intensity in the economy drops fast, efforts on afforestation have also put the national forest coverage rate in China at 24.02 percent in 2022, increasing the ability to capture and store carbon.
In addition, with total installed generation capacity of renewable energy reaching 1,213 gigawatts in 2022, China has become a global leader in utilizing green and low-carbon energy sources.
The country has ranked first in the world for eight consecutive years in production and sales of new energy vehicles. By the end of June this year, the number of new energy vehicles nationwide reached 16.2 million.
China, as a global leader in renewable energy expansion, is a powerhouse that has the ability to triple renewable power generation globally, COP28 President Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber told China’s Xinhua News Agency recently.
“China is key in the decarbonization of the energy we use today,” he said, noting that more than three-quarters of the world’s solar panels, around 60 percent of the world’s wind turbines, and three-quarters of the lithium-ion batteries on this planet come from China.
At the same time, China is actively promoting international cooperation on addressing climate challenges and has been deeply engaged in South-South cooperation.
As of June 2023, the country has signed 46 memorandums of understanding on climate change with 39 developing countries, launched over 70 climate change mitigation and adaptation projects, and helped train more than 2,300 officials and technicians from over 120 developing countries, according to a report by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.
In November, China and the United States released the Sunnylands Statement on Enhancing Cooperation to Address the Climate Crisis, reaffirming their commitment to work together and with other countries to address the climate crisis.
Over the years, China has also been promoting cooperation on climate change under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) framework, providing support for other developing countries to improve their abilities in dealing with climate change.