Illustration: Chen Xia/GT

 
Recently, President Xi Jinping delivered two significant speeches at the 19th G20 Summit: "Building a Just World of Common Development" and "Working Together for a Fair and Equitable Global Governance System." In his remarks, Xi elaborated on China's stance on critical issues such as climate change, biodiversity protection, and accelerating the green and low-carbon transition of the global economy.

Building a sustainable planet faces dual challenges: the persistent global ecological and environmental crises and a widening global governance deficit. Therefore, countries around the world must work together to address these deficits and improve the global governance system.

First, we should embrace the concepts of a global community of a shared future and harmony between humans and nature. On the vast stage of global ecological governance, no country can remain unaffected. Every country bears an inescapable responsibility because Earth is our shared home, sustaining life and fostering the progress of civilization. It serves as the foundation for human survival and development.

Second, we should integrate ecological protection into economic planning and leverage ecological initiatives to drive economic progress. Currently, global climate change is intensifying, with extreme weather events and resulting in disasters occurring frequently across the world. However, different countries have varying capacities to respond to these challenges. Developing countries, in particular, tend to have weaker risk management capabilities and are more vulnerable to the impacts of disasters. Additionally, they often face difficult trade-offs between economic growth and addressing climate change.

To address these challenges, countries - particularly developing nations - should focus on building eco-friendly economies and enhancing resilience to various disasters through development. Among these efforts, the energy transition is paramount. At its core, this transition involves replacing traditional energy sources with clean alternatives through a phased and orderly approach. China, leveraging its comprehensive strengths, is committed to supporting these countries in achieving their green and low-carbon transition.

Third, global environmental governance should operate under the UN framework and be guided by the UN Charter. The UN must remain central to safeguarding international peace and security and promoting sustainable development. We should ensure the effective implementation of the Paris Agreement and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and work together to address climate change, biodiversity loss, and other environmental challenges. However, some countries have shown a tendency to diverge from UN initiatives, promoting "climate denial claims" and steering global climate governance in unfavorable directions.

Finally, countries should bear common but differentiated responsibilities and work together to build a more sustainable planet. Developed countries must shoulder their historical responsibilities for global climate change while addressing the poverty alleviation needs of developing nations. This includes providing financial, technological, and capacity-building support to help developing countries adopt new technologies and industries that facilitate sustainable development. For developing nations, this represents both a challenge and an opportunity. By aligning national poverty reduction efforts with global climate governance, they can pursue energy transitions and green development in tandem.

"Building a just world and a sustainable planet" is not only a response to the pressing global ecological and governance challenges but also a solemn commitment to future generations. As we move steadily toward this goal, global ecological governance will enter a new era of multilateral, coordinated, and low-carbon progress.

Shi Jiwei is a student at the Department of Environmental Science and Engineering at Fudan University. Bao Cunkuan is a professor at the Department of Environmental Science and Engineering at Fudan University. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn