China is willing to work with the international community to promote the comprehensive, balanced and effective implementation of the Paris Agreement, a Chinese delegate said Tuesday.
China has implemented a national strategy to address climate change, a common challenge and crisis faced by mankind, and unswervingly follows the path of ecological priority, green and low-carbon development, said Zhao Yingmin, head of the Chinese delegation to the 27th session of the Conference of Parties (COP27) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Zhao, also vice minister of China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment, made the remarks at an event about the China Country Climate and Development Report released by the World Bank.
In order to implement the "dual carbon" goal, which is to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060, China has established a carbon neutralization working mechanism, which has clarified the top-level design of the "dual carbon" work, formulated implementation plans in energy, industry, transportation and other key areas, and a carbon neutral "1+N" policy system has been established, Zhao said.
From 2012 to 2021, China's annual energy consumption growth rate of 3 percent supported an average economic growth rate of 6.6 percent, carbon dioxide emissions per unit of gross domestic product (GDP) decreased by about 34.4 percent, and energy consumption per unit of GDP decreased by 26.4 percent, with a cumulative saving of 1.4 billion tons of standard coal, he said.
Zhao said China regards the carbon market as an important tool of climate policy and actively promotes the construction of a national carbon emission trading market. On July 16, 2021, the national carbon market officially launched online trading, covering 4.5 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually, making it the world's largest carbon market.
The market has operated in a stable and orderly manner on the whole, and the role of market mechanisms has initially emerged, he added.
As the largest developing country, China makes all-out efforts on climate governance while pursuing economic development. "China will play a pivotal role in global climate governance," said Nicholas Stern, a British economist.
"China has maintained sound cooperation with the United Nations and international financial institutions to address climate change, and China is ready to work with the international community to promote the comprehensive, balanced and effective implementation of the Paris Agreement, and continue to contribute China's strength, wisdom and solutions to the building of a fair, equitable and win-win global climate change governance system," Zhao said.
