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

China National Radio:

Could you brief us on how you completed the task of cutting down carbon emissions per unit of GDP in the first six months of this year? What measures have you taken? Will you meet the final goal of cutting down carbon intensity by 40 to 50 percent by 2020?

Xie Zhenhua:

You can find all the data, measures and achievements in the report, so to save our time, I won't engage in any repetition here. Thank you.

Legal Evening News:

I read from the prologue of the report that China submitted its INDC to the UNFCCC Secretariat in the first half of this year. We announced that our carbon dioxide emission would reach the cap by 2030, and we would try to meet the target earlier. How difficult is that? What should we do? Thank you.

Xie Zhenhua:

China's INDC is a package of proposals, including both mitigation and adaptation targets, and our position and goals concerning climate change. We have announced that our carbon dioxide emission would reach the cap by 2030, and we would try to meet the target earlier. Besides, by 2030, we will try to cut carbon intensity -- the amount emitted per unit of economic output -- by 60 to 65 percent below the 2005 level, increase the share of non-fossil fuels as part of primary energy consumption to about 20 percent, and increase forestry wood stock to 4.5 billion cubic meters. These are some of our mitigation targets.

When it comes to adaptation, unlike other countries that have rarely talked about it in their INDCs, China has addressed this aspect properly. First, we will improve the early warning system; second, we have a set of disaster prevention and reduction measures; third, we will enhance our climate-related infrastructure construction, and additionally, we have issued a corresponding strategy for improving our capabilities. In our INDC, we have not only set out the target, but also formulated the related policies and concrete engineering measures. Our INDC is a responsible, practical and viable plan, which is quite different from other countries.

To deliver on target, we have to save energy and improve energy efficiency, because we still lag behind the advanced countries in terms of energy consumption. Generally, our consumption is 1.9 times their level. This leaves a large space for improvement. However, we have also made considerable achievements. We adopted some measures in energy conservation and emission reduction over the last decade. According to the World Bank, China has contributed 52 percent of the world's energy conservation in a period of some 20 years. Taking into account the energy we recently saved, the figure will definitely be higher. We have great potential in this area.

Another measure is to transform the energy structure. Coal accounted for 66 percent of China's entire energy consumption last year, and the target set for the 12th five-year plan period (2011-2015) is 65 percent. Non-fossil energy accounts for 11.2 percent of energy consumption now. The target for the 12th five-year plan period, the year 2020 and the year 2030 is respectively 11.4 percent, 15 percent and 20 percent. The international community generally felt it would be difficult for China to meet the targets, and I agreed. However, China has made significant progress in recent years. In the past five years, it has accounted for 25 percent of global installed renewable energy, and 37 to 40 percent of new installation in 2013 and 2014.This is rapid development in switching to renewable energy. China's sizable renewable energy also helps reduces the cost of wind and photovoltaic power generation -- about 50 percent according to an estimate of the International Energy Agency. These constitute China's contribution to combating climate change and developing renewable energy. Besides, in order to increase forest carbon sink, China needs to plant more trees to absorb more carbon dioxide.

In the report of the 18th CPC National Congress, it was made clear that China should build a sound ecology and promote green, low-carbon, circular development. All the aforementioned measures were developed to tackle climate change and protect nature, so as to achieve sustainable national development. Thank you.