Wang Yi: Cooperate on climate

Reaffirms China's pledge to sustainable growth at UN Climate Action Summit

World leaders should work together to fight climate change, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Monday, as he reinforced China's commitment to sustainable development and to lead international cooperation.

"To jointly tackle this challenge and to protect the planet we all call home will be a journey critical to the future and destiny of mankind," Wang, President Xi Jinping's special representative, told world leaders at the United Nations Climate Action Summit.

Wang called for the global community be determined to win the fight against climate change, be prepared to take sustained action and be committed to cooperation.

Stressing the importance of multilateralism, he urged nations to honor commitments in the 2015 Paris Agreement and see to it that the 25th session of the Conference of the Parties to be held in Chile in two months will yield positive outcomes.

"The withdrawal of certain parties will not shake the collective will of the international community nor will it possibly reverse the historical trend of international cooperation," he said.

US President Donald Trump announced plans to withdraw from the Paris climate accord in June 2017. While he wasn't expected to attend, Trump showed up unexpectedly at the summit on Monday and sat in briefly without making a speech.

"Developed countries, on their part, need to take the lead in reducing emissions and honor their commitment of mobilizing $100 billion a year in climate finance by 2020," said Wang, who addressed the principles of "common but differentiated responsibilities" and talked about the importance of addressing the developing countries' special conditions and needs for development.

Climate actions should be mutually reinforcing with nations' socioeconomic endeavors, according to Wang, and countries should transform toward green, low-carbon development and enhance climate resilience during the accelerating development process.

China is pursuing such a high-quality development, said Wang, highlighting the country's efforts to tackle climate change at home.

In 2018, China's CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions per unit of GDP dropped by 45.8 percent — or a reduction of 5.26 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions — from the 2005 level, besting the annual target, he said.

Wang said that the share of non-fossil fuel in primary energy consumption reached 14.2 percent in China last year, and the forest stock increased by 4.56 billion cubic meters from 2005. Since 2000, China has contributed to a quarter of the world's newly forested land.

Last year, China saw an increase of 1.25 million new-energy vehicles, outnumbering those of many other countries in the world, he added.

"China will faithfully fulfill our obligations under the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement and realize, as scheduled, its nationally determined contribution targets submitted to the UNFCCC Secretariat," he said.

China's efforts to implement the Paris Agreement commitments ahead of time was recognized by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres during an interview on Friday.

"They are ready to announce very meaningful developments in renewables and in other aspects" and have already slowed down in increasing coal-based electricity production, said Guterres, according to Xinhua.

"The climate emergency is a race we are losing, but it is a race we can win," said Guterres on Monday.

China has taken action in facilitating global collaborations against climate change. In 2017, China introduced the idea of a green belt and road, aligning its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with the sustainable development idea.

This year, the BRI International Green Development Coalition was established with 134 partners involved, including 26 environmental ministries of UN member states, according to the United Nations Environment Programme.

"We are mobilizing stronger support for international cooperation against climate change," said Wang.

China is also a leader in finding nature-based solutions for climate action, advocating harmonious coexistence between men and nature, fully leveraging the role of nature and enhancing the effectiveness of climate action, according to Wang.

He said China has proposed 150 initiatives and compiled a list of more than 30 case studies in the area.

"Long and difficult as the journey of tacking climate change may be, sustained actions will take us to the destination," said Wang.

"By working together, we will build a clean and beautiful world where we can enjoy shared prosperity and a shared future," he said.