Xi Yanchun:
Thank you, Mr. Zhao Yingmin, for your introduction. Now, the floor is open to questions. Please identify your media outlet before raising your questions.
CCTV:
I wanted to ask what China's expectations are for the upcoming 25th Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. What are the goals that China is trying to accomplish? Thank you.
Zhao Yingmin:
Thanks for your questions. The 25th COP to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change this year is a significant conference connecting the past and the future. Adhering to green and low-carbon development has already become a global trend. Under the current situation where multiple interconnected uncertainties threaten to impact global economic development, we should adhere to multilateralism, and resolutely stand up for the principles and framework addressing global climate change as defined in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement. We should also actively fulfill our commitments, strengthen cooperation, and work together to address the challenges posed by climate change.
We believe that this Conference aims to fulfill four main tasks.
The first is to make an effort to complete negotiations on outstanding issues concerning the implementation of the Paris Agreement. This is an important basis for the comprehensive and effective implementation of the Paris Agreement, because only after we fully complete the negotiations on the implementation of the Agreement will we usher in a new stage in our efforts to comprehensively implement it after 2020. Also, it is a matter concerning the authority and effectiveness of a multilateral mechanism.
The second is to make progress in dealing with funding issues. The biggest problem in the current multilateral process to address climate change lies in the insufficient political will of developed countries to provide support to the process. Funds under different categories are often double counted. We hope that developed countries will provide sufficient, continuous and timely support to developing countries in a transparent and predictable manner, use public-funds and honor their commitment to provide developing countries with an annual climate fund of 100 billion dollars up to the year 2020. Based on all this, we hope we can put forward the objectives, roadmaps and schedules to strengthen their financial support to developing countries, and effectively increase the transparency of such financial support.
The third is to review the actions taken before 2020 and the effectiveness of the actions. The international community should clarify the gaps that exist among different developed countries in emission reduction actions and financial support to developing countries before 2020. It should also make clear arrangements to bridge such gaps in a targeted manner, and ensure responsibilities are not shifted to developing countries after 2020.
The fourth is to resolutely send out a strong political signal supporting multilateralism. Climate change is a common challenge confronting all human beings and calls for the cooperation of all countries under a multilateral framework. Therefore, efforts should be made to prevent unilateralism and protectionism from causing harm to the world's economic growth prospects. Poor economic growth could in turn weaken the international community's willingness and confidence to address climate change, and eventually undermine global efforts to deal with this problem.
