BEIJING: After pledging to strive to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060, China has taken another remarkable and practical step in pursuing green development.
China will step up support for other developing countries in promoting green and low-carbon energy and will not build new coal-fired power projects abroad, announced President Xi Jinping at the general debate of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) via video on Tuesday.
This is not surprising but of great significance, as China has previously cooperated with several countries along the routes of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) towards “greening” the initiative.
Phasing out coal investments would be promising to reduce carbon emissions, which pose a threat to the United Nations’ (UN) Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development, especially Goal 13 on climate action.
Besides decreasing coal-fired power projects, China has pledged an additional $3 billion of international assistance in the next three years to support developing countries in responding to COVID-19 and promoting economic and social recovery.
“Development holds the key to people’s well-being,” Xi said, adding that countries need to work together to steer global development towards a new stage of balanced, coordinated and inclusive growth.
Beijing has highlighted its willingness to work with the international community, including the United States, to jointly advance global environmental governance.
For instance, through joint partnership, China has established the Belt and Road Initiative International Green Development Coalition, which serves as a platform for BRI cooperation on green development. Under the platform, China has provided more than 2,000 training opportunities for environmental protection officials, experts and technicians from over 120 participating countries.
Adhering to green development is engraved in the Chinese government through the Constitution and the master blueprint of national development as an ecological civilization to be observed in all socioeconomic developments and political agendas.
Undoubtedly, though many countries are busy trying to rebuild their economies amid the pandemic, COVID-19 is still raging in the world, with the number of new cases rising every day globally.
Under such circumstances, President Xi called for putting people and their lives first, taking a science-based approach to origins tracing, enhancing the coordinated global COVID-19 response and minimizing the risk of cross-border virus transmission.
Noting that vaccination is a powerful weapon against COVID-19, he stressed the pressing priority is to ensure the fair and equitable distribution of vaccines globally.
–The Daily Mail-CGTN News exchange item
