Advertisement
Advertisement
Paris climate summit 2015
Get more with myNEWS
A personalised news feed of stories that matter to you
Learn more
China's representative on climate change Xie Zhenhua gives a speech on the nation’s emissions plan at a seminar hosted by Our Hong Kong Foundation at the Asia Society in Admiralty on Tuesday. Photo: Sam Tsang

China’s climate envoy bullish on hitting reduction goal for 2020

Nation could cut carbon intensity by up to 10pc more than currently planned if Beijing achieves its energy targets in five-year blueprint, Xie Zhenhua says

China’s top climate negotiator said the mainland’s carbon intensity could be cut by about 50 per cent below 2005 levels by 2020, a more ambitious outlook than the previous target set by Beijing.

Xie Zhenhua, China’s special representative for climate change, said the reduction of carbon emission per unit of GDP by 2020 could “far surpass” the current goal of 40 to 45 per cent, if the targets on energy saving and emission reduction set by the 13th five-year plan were reached.

Xie made the remarks in Hong Kong yesterday at the “Global Climate Change and China’s Response” seminar organised by the Our Hong Kong Foundation’s Chinese Culture Institute.

The current goal for carbon intensity reduction was brought forward before the Copenhagen climate talks in 2009 – when the Chinese economy was still growing at 8.7 per cent and energy-intensive industries were booming.

READ MORE: Hong Kong must prepare for the inevitable impact of climate change on its food security

The emissions target for the 13th five-year plan is to be announced during the national legislative sessions next month.

China has pledged to peak its greenhouse gas emissions and cut carbon intensity by 60-65 per cent compared with 2005 levels by 2030, as well as reducing dependence on fossil fuels.

Xie said that if carbon intensity was cut by 50 per cent by 2020, it would not be a problem to achieve the 2030 target.

He was also confident China could hit its goal for non-fossil energy consumption. “China’s market for coal consumption has started to become saturated and should gradually decline,” he said.

Residents walk past solar power panels installed for public electricity supply in Shenyang in northeast China's Liaoning province. China’s coal market was starting to become saturated and “should gradually decline”, climate envoy Xie Zhenhua says. Photo: AFP

Xie said tackling climate change was in line with China’s strategy to transform its economy to a more green and service­ oriented one. To achieve the goals set for 2030, 4.1 trillion yuan (US$628 billion or HK$4.9 trillion) would be invested by then and 69 million new jobs would be created in green, lowcarbon industries, he said.

Xie also admitted China’s statistical data on greenhouse gas emissions were not accurate. “It is a question of ability ... At every level of statistics there are exaggerations added to the data. Everyone knows that, and everyone is anxious [to fix it]. We have set up a system to calculate and monitor energy saving and emission reduction, and are gradually improving it,” he said.

Laurence Tubiana, French ambassador for international climate negotiations, said countries needed to maintain the political momentum seen during the Paris climate negotiations to ensure the global deal was implemented.

READ MORE: Paris climate talks: China goes from back foot to big leap forward in negotiations

“China has played a critical role in pushing for the agreement ... The cooperation between France and China is important in reaching the deal. Now it will require the same kind of cooperation to implement the agreement,” said Tubiana, who is in Beijing for discussions about the environment ahead of a signing ceremony of the new UN climate treaty in April in New York.

The successful implementation of the Paris agreement depends on all economies and industries switching to a green growth model, she said.

China had signalled its determination to transform its growth modal in its five-year plan till 2020, said Tubiana, adding that whether the nation could successfully launch its national carbon market and further raise investment in renewables were key indicators of China’s ability to make progress in tackling climate change.

Post