China achieved its voluntary CO 2 emission reduction target presented at COP15
2 years early. At the end of 2017, CO 2 emissions per GDP decreased by 46%
compared to 2005, exceeding the target of a 40–45% reduction by 2020. This
climate action did not come at the expense of economic growth; the Chinese
economy grew by 1.48 times in 2005–2015, while carbon emissions per GDP
decreased by 38.6% (UNFCCC 2018). Besides, as described in Chap. 15, in
2011, China piloted seven carbon emissions trading scheme projects regulating the power generation, steel, and cement manufacturing sectors. By the end
of 2017, 200 million tons of emissions were being traded. The National
Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) launched a national CO 2
emissions trading system for the power generation sector in December 2017.
Under this system, if a company’s emissions exceed their allowance, an
additional allowance can be purchased from a company with low emissions.
The scheme already includes close to 1700 companies with total emissions of
over 3 billion tons and is the largest in the world. The scheme will be expanded
to other industries in the future. In the field of new energy, as described in
Chap. 19, the technology development and introduction of new energy sources
in China are world-leading.
Sino–US relations enabled the finalization of the Paris Agreement adopted at
COP21 (2015). The US president at the time, Barack Obama, and Chinese
president Xi Jinping succeeded in finding a compromise, leading to successful
development of the Agreement. Conversely, the current US administration
officially notified the United Nations of its withdrawal from the Paris Agreement in November 2019 and has distanced itself from technical and financial
cooperation. On the contrary, China promptly clarified its commitment to the
Agreement; at the 2017 Davos Conference, President Xi said, “All parties to
the Paris Agreement should promote this without turning against it. It is our
responsibility to future generations” (Xi 2017).
At the G20 Osaka Summit in 2019, the heads of 19 countries (excluding the
United States, which had already announced its withdrawal from the Paris
Agreement) reiterated their commitment to fully implement the Paris Climate
Convention. During the summit, China, France, and the United Nations
successfully held a tripartite meeting on climate change, in which China
announced its commitment to fulfill its obligations in the Paris Agreement,
accelerate the mobilization of resources to address climate change and promote sustainable development, and cooperate to collectively respond to climate change. The establishment of a low-carbon community is a specific
strategy for a collective response to climate change.
China will not replace the role of the United States following its withdrawal from
the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement, but due to China’s economic
development, responsibility for increasing CO 2 emissions, and frequent abnormal weather, it will actively drive CO 2 emission reductions and global climate
measures.
3 Concept and Framework of the East Asian Low-Carbon Community
67
2 years early. At the end of 2017, CO 2 emissions per GDP decreased by 46%
compared to 2005, exceeding the target of a 40–45% reduction by 2020. This
climate action did not come at the expense of economic growth; the Chinese
economy grew by 1.48 times in 2005–2015, while carbon emissions per GDP
decreased by 38.6% (UNFCCC 2018). Besides, as described in Chap. 15, in
2011, China piloted seven carbon emissions trading scheme projects regulating the power generation, steel, and cement manufacturing sectors. By the end
of 2017, 200 million tons of emissions were being traded. The National
Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) launched a national CO 2
emissions trading system for the power generation sector in December 2017.
Under this system, if a company’s emissions exceed their allowance, an
additional allowance can be purchased from a company with low emissions.
The scheme already includes close to 1700 companies with total emissions of
over 3 billion tons and is the largest in the world. The scheme will be expanded
to other industries in the future. In the field of new energy, as described in
Chap. 19, the technology development and introduction of new energy sources
in China are world-leading.
Sino–US relations enabled the finalization of the Paris Agreement adopted at
COP21 (2015). The US president at the time, Barack Obama, and Chinese
president Xi Jinping succeeded in finding a compromise, leading to successful
development of the Agreement. Conversely, the current US administration
officially notified the United Nations of its withdrawal from the Paris Agreement in November 2019 and has distanced itself from technical and financial
cooperation. On the contrary, China promptly clarified its commitment to the
Agreement; at the 2017 Davos Conference, President Xi said, “All parties to
the Paris Agreement should promote this without turning against it. It is our
responsibility to future generations” (Xi 2017).
At the G20 Osaka Summit in 2019, the heads of 19 countries (excluding the
United States, which had already announced its withdrawal from the Paris
Agreement) reiterated their commitment to fully implement the Paris Climate
Convention. During the summit, China, France, and the United Nations
successfully held a tripartite meeting on climate change, in which China
announced its commitment to fulfill its obligations in the Paris Agreement,
accelerate the mobilization of resources to address climate change and promote sustainable development, and cooperate to collectively respond to climate change. The establishment of a low-carbon community is a specific
strategy for a collective response to climate change.
China will not replace the role of the United States following its withdrawal from
the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement, but due to China’s economic
development, responsibility for increasing CO 2 emissions, and frequent abnormal weather, it will actively drive CO 2 emission reductions and global climate
measures.
3 Concept and Framework of the East Asian Low-Carbon Community
67