Aerial photo shows solar panels of Qingyang 100 mega watts photovoltaic power project in Qingyang, east China's Anhui Province, Sept. 10, 2021.Photo: Xinhua

China has taken a proactive attitude, set ambition targets and made strenuous efforts in response to climate change, a spokesperson from the Chinese embassy in the UK said on Monday, responding to media questions over China’s emission reduction targets at the 26th United Nations Conference of Parties on Climate Change (COP26).

“China has been actively promoting green transition in the economy, with carbon emissions intensity down by around 48 percent by the end of 2020 compared with 2005,” said the spokesperson, adding that China has contributed 30 to 50 percent of global progress on energy conservation and efficiency and renewable energy in areas including transportation and construction. 
 
The response came after some British media outlets claimed China lacks sufficient existing commitments and lacks the willingness to cooperate, as it did not announce new targets for emission reduction at the COP26. 

According to the embassy, China's target for carbon neutrality is fully consistent with the Paris Agreement goal of keeping global average temperature an increase of well below 2C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the increase to 1.5C. 

China will achieve bigger cuts in carbon emissions intensity than any other country in the world and take the shortest time in history to move from carbon peak to neutrality as the largest developing country, which fully demonstrates that China is a big, responsible country, the spokesperson said. 

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the State Council released a guideline on Sunday, aiming to further promoting the battle against pollution, accelerating green and low-carbon development, with measures including to strictly curb coal by 2025 and raise the share of consumption of non-fossil energy to about 20 percent. By 2025, CO2 emissions per unit of GDP will drop by 18 percent compared with 2020.

The latest data reveals that since China’s national carbon market opened in July in 2021, the total cumulative turnover of the market has reached nearly 1 billion yuan ($160 million). The national carbon market is expected to enter an active trading period as the end of the year is approaching, domestic finance website cs.com reported on Monday. 

Meanwhile, the spokesperson noted that developed countries have greater capacity in tackling climate change and should not shift their responsibility onto China and other developing countries. 

Global Times