Zou Ji: Dealing with climate change needs joint efforts

Zou Ji, vice director of the National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation, talks to the media on November 30. [Photo by Wang Fang/China.org.cn]

Dealing with climate change requires joint societal efforts, Zou Ji, vice director of the National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation, said in an interview with the media in Paris on Monday.

Zou also commented on Chinese President Xi Jinping's speech at the opening ceremony of the United Nations climate change conference in Paris on Nov. 30. During the speech, Xi pointed out that to cope with climate change, all social resources including enterprises and non-governmental organizations in addition to the governments, should be mobilized to participate in the international cooperation process, raise public awareness and form a joint force.

As for the roles which the governments and enterprises should play in tackling climate change, Zou Ji believes that "dealing with climate change should not depend solely on the contributions of governments or enterprises."

Zou said that the governments should provide conditions and guidance for all sectors of society to participate in dealing with climate change, while enterprises should be the main investors as the owner of capital and technologies. The focal point is that each does its duties, and this is related to our economic system.

Zou said that the issue involves not only China, but also the world. There are different economic systems and different backgrounds among countries, but the goal is the same – that is to deal with climate change. Global governance allows different interest-related parties to cooperate.

Zou explained that many enterprises are currently participating in the action to deal with climate change. As early as 2003, Vanke (one of the largest real estate developers in China) developed green buildings and green offices to reduce carbon emissions. It is reported that, to support the Paris climate conference, more than 1,000 entrepreneurs signed their names on the Beijing Declaration for Sustainable Development. It is thus clear that more and more enterprises have actively participated in the action to deal with climate change.

Zou held that the governments should make political decisions to construct an environment and a driving force which is advantageous to low carbon transformation, so that enterprises and the public can work towards this goal.

The original story was written in Chinese by Wang Fang and translated by Li Jingrong.