A man walks past a board showing the 27th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, Nov. 5, 2022. The COP27 is to be held from Nov. 6 to18 in Egypt's resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh. Photo: Xinhua

China has made remarkable progress toward its goals of reaching peak carbon emissions and carbon neutralization, China's Special Envoy for Climate Change Xie Zhenhua said Sunday during this year's UN climate summit in Egypt.

According to preliminary calculations, the amount of carbon dioxide emissions China produces per unit of GDP in 2021 is 3.8 percent lower than that in 2020 and 50.8 percent than in 2005, he said, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

He made the remarks at a side event themed "Green Life, Joint Efforts and Shared Benefits -- Advocating Public Participation in Taking Green Actions" in China's pavilion at the venue of the 27th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP27) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Zhao Yingmin, head of the Chinese delegation to COP27, also attended the meeting.

Starting on Sunday, the COP27 will last until November 18 in the coastal city of Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt, Xinhua reported.

Xie pointed out that China has actively implemented the Paris Agreement, and further enhanced its nationally determined contribution, aiming to reach carbon peak and achieve carbon neutralization in a strong, orderly and effective manner. "China has made great progress in this regard," Xie said.

The Chinese envoy added that China has been actively creating a green and low-carbon atmosphere for years, encouraging the public to participate in carbon emissions reduction, and exploring to establish a pluralistic mechanism of social participation.

He said that China has also integrated ecological civilization into its national education system and strengthened ecological education in schools.

"Public participation is an important driving force for green and low-carbon development and a key indicator for the modernization of the environmental governability and governance system in a country," Xie said.

Under the principles of openness and transparency, broad participation, consensus and party-driven, China will work with all parties to promote the success of COP27 and contribute China's wisdom and strength to building a fair, reasonable and win-win global climate governance system, he added.

No matter how the external environment changes, China's firm determination and position to implement its goals to peak carbon emissions and achieve carbon neutrality, and to actively participate in global climate governance will never change, Xie said in an address on Tuesday. 

"China has actively implemented the Paris Agreement and further enhanced its nationally determined contribution, aiming to reach carbon peak and achieve carbon neutralization in a strong, orderly and effective manner. China has made great progress in this regard," said Xie. 

Separately, Zhao Yingmin, also vice minister of China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment, said on Sunday at a side event on the theme of "Pollution Reduction and Carbon Reduction Synergy: Achieving Win-Win for Environment, Climate and Economic Benefits" hosted by the ministry that the Chinese government attaches great importance to addressing climate change and has accelerated the implementation of its "dual carbon" goal in an all-round way.

China implements a national strategy to actively address climate change, and unswervingly follows the path of ecological priority, green and low-carbon development, said Zhao.

China has accelerated the implementation of its "dual carbon" goal, which is to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060, in an all-round way, including establishing a national agency to coordinate the top-level design of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality and issuing the guidelines on how to achieve the goal, Zhao said.

Given that the emissions of environmental pollutants and carbon dioxide have the same root and process, China regards the synergy of pollution reduction and carbon reduction as a starting point for promoting a comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development, he said.

"The road of quality development is to reduce carbon while reducing pollution, and reduce pollution while reducing carbon, so as to realize the synergy of pollution reduction and carbon reduction, and achieve a win-win situation for environmental, climate, economic and social benefits," he said.

China will speed up building a Chinese-style modernization "in which human and nature coexist in harmony," promote green production methods and lifestyles, and actively participate in global climate governance, said the vice minister.

"Together with the international community, we will jointly implement policies and actions to achieve synergies in pollution reduction and carbon reduction, and work together to contribute Chinese wisdom and strength to building a clean and beautiful world," Zhao said.

Global Times