Xiplomacy: Xi's vision on the governance of global biodiversity

BEIJING -- The 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15) is set to kick off in Kunming, the capital of Southwest China's Yunnan province, on Monday and is expected to draw a blueprint for future biodiversity conservation.

On various occasions, Chinese President Xi Jinping has expounded on his Thought on Ecological Civilization, which has served as a guiding principle for a China striding towards creating a green economy while promoting equitable biodiversity governance across the world.

The following are some highlights of his recent remarks on the topic.

Sept 21, 2021

In his speech at the general debate of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Xi called on all parties to stay committed to harmony between human beings and nature.

"We need to improve global environmental governance, actively respond to climate change and create a community of life for man and nature. We need to accelerate a transition to a green and low-carbon economy and achieve green recovery and development," Xi said.

He reiterated China's targets for peak carbon and carbon neutrality, and further announced that China will step up support for other developing countries to develop green and low-carbon energy, and will not build new coal-fired power projects abroad.

Sept 9, 2021

When addressing the 13th BRICS Summit, Xi called for promoting common development, following a people-centered philosophy of development and fully implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

"We need to actively respond to climate change based on the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, promote the transition to green and low-carbon development, and jointly build a clean and beautiful world," he said.

June 5, 2021

In his congratulatory letter on World Environment Day events held in Pakistan, Xi said the international community should work together with unprecedented ambition and action to strive for a fair and reasonable system of global environmental governance featuring win-win cooperation and promote the sustainable development of humanity.

As a participant, contributor and trailblazer in global ecological conservation, China is firmly committed to putting multilateralism into action and defending the international system with the UN at its core and the international order underpinned by international law in order to enhance global governance on the environment, Xi said.

April 22, 2021

When addressing the Leaders Summit on Climate on this year's Earth Day, Xi said that faced with unprecedented challenges in global environmental governance, the international community must act with unprecedented ambition and action.

"We need to act with a sense of responsibility and unity, and work together to foster a community of life for man and nature," he said.

Dec 12, 2020

At the Climate Ambition Summit, Xi made three proposals for future global climate governance. First, to create a climate governance that features win-win cooperation. Second, to foster a new architecture of climate governance where every party does its part. And third, to pursue green approaches to climate governance.

"China always honors its commitments. Guided by our new development philosophy, we will promote greener economic and social development in all respects while pursuing high-quality development," he said.

Sept 30, 2020

When delivering a speech at the UN Summit on Biodiversity, Xi called on all parties to adhere to ecological civilization and increase the drive for building a beautiful world, saying biodiversity affects the well-being of humanity and provides the very basis for the human race to survive and thrive.

As the host country of COP15, China is happy to share with all parties its experience in biodiversity governance and ecological progress, he added.

Sept 22, 2020

In his speech at the general debate of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly, Xi said that China will scale up its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions by adopting more vigorous policies and measures.

"We aim to have CO2 emissions peak before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060," Xi said.

"We call on all countries to pursue innovative, coordinated, green and open development for all, seize the historic opportunities presented by the new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, and achieve a green recovery of the world economy in the post-COVID era, thus creating a powerful force driving sustainable development," he added.