The 26th United Nations Conference of Parties on Climate Change (COP26) opened 
on Sunday in Glasgow, Scotland, the first conference after the five-year review 
cycle under the Paris Agreement inked in 2015.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has on many occasions highlighted China's view on 
tackling the climate challenge, expressed China's firm support for the Paris 
Agreement and announced the country's concrete actions to protect the planet.

In his written statement to the World Leaders Summit at COP26 released on 
Monday, Xi reiterated a call for global unity and actions to address climate 
change and put forward three suggestions.

Uphold multilateral consensus

"When it comes to global challenges such as climate change, multilateralism is 
the right prescription," Xi said in the statement, calling on all parties to 
build on the existing consensus, increase mutual trust and step up cooperation 
to deliver a successful COP26.

The Chinese president has facilitated major progress on climate issues at the 
global level. In 2015, he delivered a keynote speech at the Paris Conference on 
Climate Change, making a historic contribution to the conclusion of the Paris 
Agreement

At the Climate Ambition Summit in December 2020, President Xi announced China's 
further commitments for 2030, making steady progress in implementing the Paris 
Agreement.

Earlier this month, he underscored the importance of sharing the fruits of 
green development among all countries when addressing the leaders' summit of 
the China-hosted 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the 
Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15).

Focusing on concrete action

"Visions will come true only when we act on them," said Xi on Monday as he 
urged all countries to honor their commitment, set realistic targets and do 
their best according to national conditions to deliver their climate action 
measures.

As the Chinese president has said, China always honors its words with actions. 
According to a climate change white paper released last week, the country's 
carbon emissions intensity in 2020 came down by 48.8 percent compared to 2005 
and by 18.8 percent on the 2015 level, showing China takes the Paris Agreement 
seriously.

By the end of 2020, non-fossil fuels accounted for 16 percent of primary energy 
consumption in China and the country also phased out 120 million kilowatts of 
installed coal-fired power generation capacity during the past decade.

China has launched green action initiatives that encourage green 
infrastructure, energy, transportation and finance under the Belt and Road 
Initiative (BRI) framework as well. In 2020, 57 percent of China's investment 
in BRI partner countries went to renewable energy projects, up from 38 percent 
in 2019.

Accelerating green transition

Xi on Monday highlighted the role of innovation in science and technology and 
called for the promotion of a greener economy and society and exploration of a 
new pathway that coordinates development with conservation.

China recently has published two key directives: a top-level design document 
for peaking carbon emissions and achieving carbon neutrality, and an action 
plan for peaking carbon emissions before 2030.

According to Xi, the country will further roll out specific implementation 
plans for key areas such as energy, industry, construction and transport, and 
for key sectors such as coal, electricity, iron and steel, and cement, coupled 
with supporting measures in terms of science and technology, carbon sink, 
fiscal and taxation, and financial incentives.

These plans together will form China's "1+N" policy framework for helping the 
nation fulfill its pledge to peak its CO2 emissions before 2030 and achieve 
carbon neutrality before 2060 with a clearly defined timetable, roadmap and 
blueprint.

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2021-11-02/From-COP15-to-COP26-China-calls-for-unite-actions-to-protect-Earth-14R8MSzM208/index.html 


Source: CGTN