China sets good example to combat climate change

President Xi Jinping said China firmly supports France in hosting the upcoming climate change summit, when he met with visiting French President Francois Hollande in Beijing on Nov 2, 2015. [Photo/China Daily]

Chinese President Xi Jinping is in Paris for the Conference of the Parties (COP21) and will deliver a speech elaborating China's opinion on addressing global climate change during the opening ceremony.

The conference, attended by representatives from 195 countries and organizations, is aimed at reaching a historic, balanced and fair agreement on managing global carbon emissions after 2020.

China announced a series of objectives for cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 when Premier Li Keqiang met with French President Francois Hollande during his Paris visit in July. They include: China's carbon dioxide emissions will peak by around 2030; carbon dioxide emissions per GDP will decrease by 60-65 percent compared with that of 2005; non-fossil fuel use will account for around 20 percent of primary energy consumption; forest stock will increase by 4.5 billion cubic meters compared with that of 2005.

The announcement served as strong support to French efforts in hosting the climate change meeting and showed China's resolution to deal with the issue.

China's effort won recognition from officials at the United Nations. When asked about "which country sets a good example of combating the climate change?" Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, said China's actions were "very impressive".

A series of statements, including the China-US Joint Presidential Statement on Climate Change and the China-Britain joint declaration on building a global comprehensive strategic partnership for the 21st century, were issued during Xi's visits to the US and UK this year, which achieved acknowledgement worldwide.

Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, also gave credit to China for what it did. He was impressed by China's Emissions Trading System created to curb the internal demand for coal.

China announced it would make available 20 billion yuan ($3.1 billion) to establish the South-South Cooperation Fund on Climate Change, to support other developing countries coping with climate change as Xi attended the UN anniversary in September.

China is willing to take on responsibilities and the country regards coping with climate change as a major opportunity for transforming its pattern of development, Xi said.