State Council Information Office of the People's Republic of China

“ China has succeeded in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, and has now embarked on a new journey to build a modern country and achieve national rejuvenation. To realize high-quality development, it is essential for China to tackle climate change, a key issue that will have an impact on the wellbeing not only of the people of China, but of all the peoples throughout the world. ”

“ In meeting the climate challenge, no one can isolate themselves and unilateralism will get us nowhere. Only by upholding multilateralism, unity and cooperation can we deliver shared benefits for all nations. ”

“ Taking into full consideration the people's aspiration for a better life, their expectation of a sound eco-environment, and their responsibility for future generations, China is pioneering a new approach that synergizes the efforts to fight climate change, develop the economy, generate employment, eliminate poverty, and protect the environment. ”

“ In this new development stage, China pursues a philosophy that development must be innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared, and accelerates the pace in creating a new development dynamic. Among the five axes of the new philosophy, green development is a necessary condition for sustainability. It represents the people's aspiration for a better life, and is a key guide for China's climate actions. China holds the view that clear waters and green mountains are invaluable assets, and that eco-environmental protection and improvement lead to greater productivity. ”

“ The whole world should safeguard the international system with the UN at its core and the international order underpinned by international law. All countries should uphold the goals, principles and framework set in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement, implement the latter in full, and build a fair and rational global climate governance system for win-win results. ”

“ In the manufacture of wind power and PV power generation equipment, China has established the most complete industrial chain in the world, and is the global leader in terms of technology and output. The steady maturing of China's industrial chain for new energy storage and the diversity of its technology lend strength to the clean, low-carbon transition of the global energy sector. ”

“ Mitigating climate change reflects the overall global transition towards green and low-carbon living. China has abandoned its previous development model that damaged or even destroyed the eco-environment. Instead, following the current technological revolution and industrial trends, it has seized the opportunities created by green transition, transformed and upgraded its economic and industrial structure and energy mix through innovation, and achieved a green recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. A better eco-environment is boosting China's sustainable economic and social development. ”

“ Green living is a prerequisite for building a beautiful China, and every member of society has become conscious of the need and is ready to act. Through regular activities, including those for National Energy Conservation Week, National Low Carbon Day and World Environment Day, China educates the public about climate change. It also promotes the concept of eco-civilization, including climate change and green development, in the national education system, and organizes training courses for the public on responding to climate change. ”

“ China is improving its industrial structure. Responding to climate change is a new mission for Chinese industry in its pursuit of green, low-carbon development, which also opens up new opportunities. The added value of tertiary industry made up 54.5 percent of China's GDP in 2020, 3.7 percentage points above that of 2015 and 16.7 percentage points higher than the figure for secondary industry. Strategic emerging industries such as energy conservation and environmental protection are growing rapidly and becoming pillars of the economy. ”

“ Green, energy-efficient buildings are growing rapidly. Under its green development philosophy, China has made sweeping efforts to promote eco-friendly and energy-efficient buildings, in a bid to harness the full potential for carbon emissions reduction in the architectural sector. By the end of 2020 the floorage of China's green buildings had exceeded 6.6 billion square meters, with as many as 77 percent of urban buildings completed in the year meeting the green standard. ”

“ Human activity since the Industrial Revolution, particularly the cumulative carbon dioxide emissions resulting from the huge consumption of fossil fuels by developed countries, have led to a significant increase in the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases exacerbating climate change characterized by global warming. ”

“ China has taken various measures to build up the carbon sink capacity of ecosystems and ensure that forests, grasslands, wetlands, oceans, soil and frigid zones play their role in carbon sequestration. With the highest growth in forest coverage and the largest area of man-made forests, China leads the world in greening the planet. In the decade between 2010 and 2020, 7.2 million ha of marginal farmland were turned into forest and grassland. By 2020, vegetation coverage of its grasslands was 56.1 percent, and more than half of its wetland areas were under protection. ”

“ At critical moments when global climate governance is facing great uncertainties, President Xi has repeatedly expressed China's firm support for the Paris Agreement, pointing the direction of global climate governance and adding powerful impetus. ”

“ Due to ecological and environmental constraints, limitations imposed by the industrial structure, and the level of social and economic development, developing countries are generally weaker in terms of their ability to adapt to climate change, and are more vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change than developed countries. China is a climate sensitive region, and has witnessed a profound impact. ”

“ The China Greenhouse Gas Voluntary Emission Reduction Program was established in 2012. Its goals are to encourage the whole of society to participate in emissions reduction activities, ensure that the transaction entities fulfill their social responsibilities, pursue a low-carbon development path, and promote a low-carbon industrial structure and low-carbon energy consumption. As of September 30, 2021, the total trading volume of greenhouse gas voluntary emission reduction had exceeded 334 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, with turnover approaching RMB3 billion. ”

“ Pressing ahead with major national strategies to improve climate resilience. In order to carry out the climate adaptation related work in a coordinated way, China formulated the National Strategy for Climate Change Adaptation in 2013, identifying guidelines, principles, and main targets of this undertaking from 2014 to 2020, and supervised the formulation and implementation of seven major tasks involving infrastructure, agriculture, water resources, coastal zone and related sea areas, forests and other ecosystems, human health, tourism and other industries. ”

“ China has accelerated the transformation to a clean and low-carbon energy consumption structure. In order to address pollution and climate change caused by fossil fuel combustion, China has strictly controlled coal consumption, and the proportion of coal consumption has continued to decline significantly. In 2020, China's total energy consumption was kept under 5 billion tonnes of standard coal. The proportion of coal in its total energy consumption dropped from 72.4 percent in 2005 to 56.8 percent in 2020. ”

“ Carbon dioxide and other ordinary pollutants often come from the same sources, mainly from the burning and utilization of fossil fuels. Controlling the use of fossil fuels and consequently reducing carbon emissions have a lasting impact on the economic structure, energy mix, forms of transport, modes of production, and ways of life. ”

“ The energy sector is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. China has continuously intensified its efforts in energy conservation and emissions reduction and accelerated energy mix readjustment to build a clean, low-carbon, safe, and efficient energy system. ”

“ The government has strengthened protection of coastal wetland, and improved the ability of key coastal areas to deal with climate change risks. In other key eco-environmental areas including ecologically fragile areas of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, transition areas between cropland and grassland in the northwest, stony deserts in the southwest, and the Yangtze River and the Yellow River basins, China has carried out climate adaption and ecological restoration efforts to improve the overall ability to adapt to climate change. ”

“ Based on domestic realities and taking into consideration the international situation, China continues to employ its wisdom and apply its solutions to the transition to green and low-carbon social and economic development. ”

“ China has implemented a project to alleviate poverty through the rational development and utilization of energy resources in poor areas, effectively boosting their economic development capacity. China has built a total of more than 26 million kW of PV poverty-alleviation power stations, and thousands of “sunshine banks” in poor rural areas, benefiting about 60,000 poor villages and 4.15 million poor households. This innovative model for the integrated development of PV energy and agriculture is helping to win the battle against poverty. ”

“ With the establishment of a comprehensive system that integrates air, space and land, China now publishes regular reports on national natural disaster risks. The government has promulgated national disaster prevention and mitigation plans to guide disaster prevention, mitigation and relief work in the context of climate change, carried out nine key projects for strengthening natural disaster prevention and control, monitoring, early warning, consultation and evaluation of severe convective weather, melting glaciers, and dammed lakes. ”

“ We must commit to multilateralism. International affairs should be addressed by all parties involved through consultation, and the future of the world should be shaped by all countries acting together. ”

“ China has committed to implementing a new energy security strategy, with major changes made in energy production and utilization, and historic achievements in energy development. These provide vital momentum to achieve high-quality development, win the battle against poverty, and build a moderately prosperous society in all respects. ”

“ Support plans are being created in areas such as science and technology, fiscal funding, finance, pricing, carbon sinks, energy transition and coordination of pollution reduction and carbon emission reduction, with clearer timetables, roadmaps, and working plans. The country is shaping policies and actions with clear objectives, reasonable assignment of labor, effective measures, and sound coordination, ensuring that all efforts deliver positive results. ”

“ In September 2021, at the general debate of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly, he stated that China will step up support for other developing countries in developing green and low-carbon energy, and will build no new coal-fired power projects abroad, manifesting China's sense of responsibility as a major country. ”

“ Promoting climate change adaptation actions in key sectors. In the agricultural sector, China has promoted sustainable agricultural development by transforming agricultural growth models. Capacity for agricultural emissions reduction and carbon sequestration has been strengthened thanks to the implementation of five major agricultural green development actions in Northeast China, including straw processing. ”

“ The government has encouraged enterprises to take the lead in green technology research and development, supported the transfer and application of green technology achievements, established a comprehensive national-level green technology trading market, and guided enterprises to adopt advanced and applicable energy-saving and low-carbon new technologies. ”