SCIO briefing on China's Policies and Actions on Climate Change

Speaker:

Mr. Xie Zhenhua, the Special Representative on Climate Change of China

Chairperson:

Hu Kaihong, vice director-general of the Press Bureau, State Council Information Office

Date:

Nov.19, 2015

 

Hu Kaihong (Spokesperson):

Ladies and gentlemen, good morning! Welcome to the press conference of the State Council Information Office. The 2015 UN Climate Change Conference will be held in Paris shortly. Today, China's Policies and Actions for Addressing Climate Change (2015) is officially launched. To help you have a better understanding of the report on China's position and the proposals it will make to the Paris conference, we are very much honored to have Mr. Xie Zhenhua here to brief you and later take your questions. Mr. Xie is China's special representative for the climate change affairs. Now, I hand over to Mr. Xie.

Xie Zhenhua:

Friends from the Chinese and international press, good morning! I thank you very much for your concern about climate change issues, China's actions, policies and measures to tackle climate change, and especially its position in the process of international climate change. I am here today mainly to launch China's Policies and Actions for Addressing Climate Change (2015), which contains details both on China's progress over the year and the position it plans to take at the Paris conference.

This year marks the final year of China's Twelfth Five-Year Plan (2011-15) and we are delighted to see the progress that has been made in tackling climate change. Here are some principal data I'd like to share with you. As of 2014, carbon dioxide emissions per GDP unit nationwide dropped 6.1 percent year on year, and have declined 15.8 percent since 2010. This shows we have achieved the goal of 17-percent reduction required in the Twelfth Five-Year Plan.

During the Twelfth Five-Year Plan, the consumption of non-fossil fuels accounted for 11.2 percent of total use, up 4.4 percentage points since 2005. There isn't any problem to meet the 11.4-percent requirement in the Twelfth Five-Year Plan as we continuously seek to optimize the energy consumption structure. Also, compared with 2005, the forest coverage has increased by 2.188 billion cubic meters, far exceeding our previous promise of 1.5 billion cubic meters expansion.

Pilot projects to build low-carbon cities, industrial parks and communities are being carried out in anorderly way. Seven carbon emission trading centers are all online now. These achievements show we are gradually expanding our ability to deal with climate change. Across society, awareness of low-carbon development and the capability of making that happen have both risen remarkably. It is fair to say that China has made important contributions to mitigating global climate change. Last June, the Chinese government submitted a report on China's voluntary actions regarding post-2020 climate change to the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The report contains the detailed objectives and missions for China in the period so I am not going to repeat them here.

Now I will be happy to take your questions.

Hu Kaihong:

Thank you, Mr. Xie. The floor is open. As usual, please identify yourself and the media outlet you represent before asking a question.