Ecological Civilization is the Chinese Wisdom and Chinese Plan …
459
China was the first to issue the National Plan on Implementation of the 2030
Agenda for Sustainable Development, implement the National Climate Change
Programme (2014–2020) and deposit the instrument of ratification of The Paris
Agreement with the UN. China’s elimination of ozone-consuming substances
accounts for over 50% of the total elimination in developing countries, making the
greatest contributions to global ozone preservation.
China has deeply engaged in and led the international cooperation in response
to climate change, and is one of the first countries to approve the Paris Agreement through legislative procedure and deposit its national climate change plan with
the UN. As a responsible and major country, China has actively participated in
global environment governance and honored its commitment to emission reduction.
It pledged as early as in 2015 to peak its CO 2 emission around 2030 and strive to
achieve that at an early date. To that end, the Chinese government has adopted a
raft of powerful environmental protection measures, such as tightening bulk coal
management and energy conservation and emission reduction in key industries, and
optimizing the energy mix and decreasing the ratio of coal consumption. From 2013
to 2018, China’s energy and water consumption per unit GDP dropped more than
20%, the emission of main pollutants kept falling, the number of heavily polluted
days was halved in key cities, 163 million mu new forests were planted, and the area
of sandy land shrank nearly 2,000 square kilometers per year.
At the 2015 UN Climate Change Conference held in Paris, President Xi Jinping
called on all countries to abandon the narrow-minded “zero-sum game” and urged
them, especially developed ones, to work for mutual benefits by sharing more and
bearing more responsibilities. While the international community is still arguing
about the division of duties, the Chinese government has begun to actively cope
with climate change with amazing resolve and intensity. While the US announced to
withdraw from the Paris Agreement, China reaffirmed its position of upholding its
goals and commitments regarding climate protection, invigorating the world with its
sincerity and determination. In the twenty-first century, China has been continuously
making contributions to the global low-carbon economy, not only making its policies more transparent to enhance mutual trust, but also providing other developing
countries with strong financial support to transform and upgrade their development
mode. As early as in December 2015, the People’s Bank of China issued green
financial bonds. At present, China boasts the largest green bond market in the world
and has created the largest carbon emission trading system as well. In September
2017, China kicked off a research program on the timetable for the halt of production and sales of cars burning traditional energies, and it is now the world’s largest
new energy vehicle (NEV) producer and consumer. Through ceaseless innovation
and development, China has de facto become the global benchmark in such areas as
environmental protection, renewable energy utilization and green finance.
After initiating the Belt and Road Initiative over six years ago, China has signed
173 cooperation documents or agreements (note: by the end of March 2019) with
125 countries and 29 international organizations. As President Xi Jinping said, the
BRI originated in China, but its opportunities and fruits belong to the whole world.
China has no geopolitical calculations, seeks no exclusionary blocs and imposes no
459
China was the first to issue the National Plan on Implementation of the 2030
Agenda for Sustainable Development, implement the National Climate Change
Programme (2014–2020) and deposit the instrument of ratification of The Paris
Agreement with the UN. China’s elimination of ozone-consuming substances
accounts for over 50% of the total elimination in developing countries, making the
greatest contributions to global ozone preservation.
China has deeply engaged in and led the international cooperation in response
to climate change, and is one of the first countries to approve the Paris Agreement through legislative procedure and deposit its national climate change plan with
the UN. As a responsible and major country, China has actively participated in
global environment governance and honored its commitment to emission reduction.
It pledged as early as in 2015 to peak its CO 2 emission around 2030 and strive to
achieve that at an early date. To that end, the Chinese government has adopted a
raft of powerful environmental protection measures, such as tightening bulk coal
management and energy conservation and emission reduction in key industries, and
optimizing the energy mix and decreasing the ratio of coal consumption. From 2013
to 2018, China’s energy and water consumption per unit GDP dropped more than
20%, the emission of main pollutants kept falling, the number of heavily polluted
days was halved in key cities, 163 million mu new forests were planted, and the area
of sandy land shrank nearly 2,000 square kilometers per year.
At the 2015 UN Climate Change Conference held in Paris, President Xi Jinping
called on all countries to abandon the narrow-minded “zero-sum game” and urged
them, especially developed ones, to work for mutual benefits by sharing more and
bearing more responsibilities. While the international community is still arguing
about the division of duties, the Chinese government has begun to actively cope
with climate change with amazing resolve and intensity. While the US announced to
withdraw from the Paris Agreement, China reaffirmed its position of upholding its
goals and commitments regarding climate protection, invigorating the world with its
sincerity and determination. In the twenty-first century, China has been continuously
making contributions to the global low-carbon economy, not only making its policies more transparent to enhance mutual trust, but also providing other developing
countries with strong financial support to transform and upgrade their development
mode. As early as in December 2015, the People’s Bank of China issued green
financial bonds. At present, China boasts the largest green bond market in the world
and has created the largest carbon emission trading system as well. In September
2017, China kicked off a research program on the timetable for the halt of production and sales of cars burning traditional energies, and it is now the world’s largest
new energy vehicle (NEV) producer and consumer. Through ceaseless innovation
and development, China has de facto become the global benchmark in such areas as
environmental protection, renewable energy utilization and green finance.
After initiating the Belt and Road Initiative over six years ago, China has signed
173 cooperation documents or agreements (note: by the end of March 2019) with
125 countries and 29 international organizations. As President Xi Jinping said, the
BRI originated in China, but its opportunities and fruits belong to the whole world.
China has no geopolitical calculations, seeks no exclusionary blocs and imposes no