China's climate goals to boost opportunities in clean energy: UN official

BEIJING - China's climate change targets for the next couple of decades will provide investment opportunities worth $2.5 trillion in the non-fossil energy sector, an official from the United Nations (UN) said on Wednesday.

Rae Kwon Chung, principal advisor on climate change of the UN Secretary-General, made the estimate during the China Summit on Caring for Climate hosted by the UN Global Compact Network China.

He expects Chinese enterprises will vigorously join the battle against climate change.

In an action plan submitted to the UN at the end of June, China promised to cut carbon dioxide emissions per unit of gross domestic product (GDP) by 60 percent to 65 percent from the 2005 level by 2030 and expand the share of non-fossil fuels in its primary energy consumption to around 20 percent from the 11.2-percent ratio in 2014.

During the summit, UN officials applauded China's strong will and efforts in fighting climate change and urged all countries in the world to take action.

"The targets are ambitious, impressive and of high standard," Chung said. "China has shown strong political will and commitment on climate change, which many countries do not have."

Chung said China has made substantial contribution as it has a track record of over-achieving targets for energy efficiency and carbon intensity improvement.

Echoing his words, Gavin Power, deputy executive director at the UN Global Compact, said the country is showing tremendous leadership in the issue and businesses are also making tremendous efforts to complement government actions.

China invested around $90 billion in the renewable energy sector last year, more than one quarter of the world's total, Power said. He expects the country to become the world's largest carbon trading market by 2016.

Chung believes China will make significant contributions to a new climate pact hopefully to be reached during a key UN conference in Paris, scheduled for the end of the year.

Chung said the ambitious goals will not be easy and advised the country to combine technological and fiscal innovation together to realize its targets.

The world's largest greenhouse gas emitter, China has strived to cut greenhouse gas output and successfully lowered carbon emissions per unit of GDP by 33.8 percent from the 2005 level in 2014.