China to work with other countries for greener globe, official says

With even greater efforts to implement Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, China will join hands with other nations to cope with global environmental challenges and make even greater contributions to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, a senior environmental official said.

Zhai Qing, vice-minister of ecology and environment, made the remarks on Friday at a news conference held on the sidelines of the ongoing 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.

"As an important participant, contributor, and torchbearer in the global endeavor for ecological civilization, China has unswervingly adhered to multilateralism and building a fair and rational global environmental governance system, as it strives to contribute to sustainable development of the mankind," the official said.

A significant progress has been achieved, for example, in the country's efforts to promote green Belt and Road Initiative, he said. The BRI International Green Development Coalition, which China initiated in 2019 to enhance policy dialogue, joint research and capacity building with countries involved in the initiative, has now had more than 150 partners from over 40 countries.

He said the country has so far offered training programs to about 3,000 officials and scholars related to environmental management from more than 120 countries.

The vice-minister also highlighted the country's consistent efforts to cope with the global challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss.

In 2020, the country announced that it aims to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and realize carbon neutrality before 2060, he said. In the second year, it vowed to step up support for other developing countries in developing green and low-carbon energy, and stop building new coal-fired power projects abroad.

Last year, Xi announced a Kunming Biodiversity Fund and taking the lead by investing 1.5 billion yuan to support biodiversity protection in developing countries, Zhai said.

The vice-minister noted a series of multilateral and bilateral mechanisms China has proactively participated in for environmental and climate cooperation.

Under the South-South cooperation mechanism, for instance, China has reached 43 agreements on climate cooperation with 38 developing nations, he said. The largest developing state has made great efforts to help other developing countries beef up their capabilities in tackling climate change by aiding them with relevant materials, such as meteorological satellite, photovoltaic power generation system and new energy vehicle.

Zhai also shared figures to demonstrate the remarkable progress China has made in promoting comprehensive green transition of economic and social development.

More innovative policy instruments have been applied to boost green and low-carbon development, he said. The national carbon trading program the country launched last year, for instance, has seen 179 million metric tons of allowances of carbon dioxide emissions change hands at a total price of almost 7.7 billion yuan.

Since 2018, companies with pollutant emission levels below national standards have enjoyed tax reduction of more than 10 billion yuan, he said.