China remains committed to the path of green development, said Lin Jian, a Foreign Ministry spokesman at a press briefing in Beijing on Friday.
In an interview days ago on the sidelines of COP29, Jeffrey Sachs, President of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network and a professor at Columbia University, said China, an important leader in energy transformation, has played an essential role in combating climate change.
"In recent years, China has kept to the path of pursuing green development and implemented the new development philosophy. The economic growth is of higher quality and more eco-friendly. China became the first country in the world to achieve zero net land degradation, contributed a quarter of the world’s newly added green area, reversed the fast growth momentum of CO2 emissions, built the world’s largest and full-fledged industrial chain of the new energy sector, and tops other countries in the installed capacity of new energy and the production and sales of new energy vehicles. When accelerating green and low-carbon transition at home, China has worked to promote the development and prosperity of the Global South and global green and low-carbon transition. We have also shared our experience of green development to help other developing countries go green and be better off at the same time," said Lin.
By this October, China has signed 53 South-South MOUs on addressing climate change with 42 developing countries, and rolled out nearly 100 projects on climate mitigation and adaptation. China has also carried out a total of over 300 capacity-building projects in areas related to climate change, and provided more than 10 thousand training opportunities to 120 plus developing countries to increase their climate response capacity, so as to deliver a better life to local people and improve their wellbeing, according to the spokesman.
"It must be pointed out that climate change is a common challenge for mankind that requires joint response from the international community. All parties need to firmly uphold the principles, targets and institutions of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement, in particular, the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities," he said.
Lin stressed that developed countries need to step up to their historical responsibilities and, in accordance with the stipulations of the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement, take the lead to cut emissions and realize carbon neutrality ahead of schedule to create space for developing countries in terms of emissions, and earnestly fulfill their obligations of providing developing countries with support of capital, technology and capacity building. Global South countries, including China, can support each other through South-South cooperation on a voluntary basis and improve their capability of responding to climate change and realize sustainable development.
Meanwhile, Lin said that China stands ready to work with all parties, under the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind, to jointly protect Planet Earth and advance progress in global ecological conservation.
China remains committed to green development path: spokesman
