China will step up its support for other developing countries in developing green and low-carbon energy, and will not build new coal-fired power projects abroad. President Xi Jinping made the announcement at the general debate of the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly on September 21.
These new commitments once again prove that China is serious about addressing climate change, according to Shakeel Ramay, CEO of the Asian Institute of Eco-civilization Research and Development. “China doesn’t only talk. It also delivers,” he said to Xinhuanet News Agency.
One year ago, Xi said, while addressing the general debate of the 75th UN General Assembly, that China aims to have its carbon dioxide emissions peak before 2030 and to achieve carbon neutrality before 2060.
From then on, China has demonstrated unprecedented powers to take action, according to a report released at a webinar hosted by the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China and China International Publishing Group (CIPG) on September 22. The report, Carbon Neutrality: China in Action, was compiled by think tanks including the Chongyang Institute and the Academy of Contemporary China and World Studies under CIPG.
Currently, more than 130 countries have set goals to reach carbon neutrality by the middle of this century. Former Slovenian President Danilo Türk said despite China being the world’s largest developing country, its pledge constitutes the shortest interval between carbon peak and carbon neutrality of any commitment made by any country thus far.
Promising yet challenging
Last year, China’s investment in renewable energy projects, including solar, wind and hydro power, accounted for about 57 percent of its overall energy-related investment, according to statistics compiled by the Green Belt and Road Initiative Center.
“China has been a global leader in calling for an urgent response to the extreme challenges posed by global warming,” Mahbub Uz Zaman, Bangladeshi Ambassador to China, said at the webinar, adding that he hopes his country can learn more from China’s practices.
He was echoed by Palitha Kohona, Sri Lankan Ambassador to China. Kohona spoke highly of China’s measures to shift industry away from fossil fuels and to accelerate the electrification of transportation, saying they have made him confident China will meet its commitments.
“At the time it reaches its peak in carbon emissions, China’s per-capita GDP will be lower than that of developed countries such as the U.S., European nations and Japan when they each reach their respective peaks. This will bring about a profound and far-reaching economic and social transformation that will require great efforts to manage,” Xie Zhenhua, China’s Special Envoy for Climate Change, told participants in the event.
Gao Anming, Vice President of CIPG, pointed out that despite the achievements China has made in its low-carbon transition, making climate targets a reality is a greater challenge.
As of late 2020, clean energy accounted for almost one fourth of China’s energy consumption. During that year, China led the world in installed capacity of wind and solar energies, while carbon dioxide emissions per 10,000 yuan ($1,547) of GDP almost halved from 2005. “China is the largest manufacturing power in the world and is still in a phase of rapid growth. It’s very difficult for China to reduce carbon emissions,” Gao said, adding that the COVID-19 pandemic and the complex international environment both make it more challenging for China to achieve carbon neutrality.
– The Daily Mail-Beijing Review News exchange item
