Climate Special 7: Staying the Course (I)

Today, as we continue with our Climate Cooperation series, we’ll hear from China’s Vice Minister of Ecology and Environment who says China will fulfill its international responsibilities on climate issues not only because it’s the right thing to do, but also because it aligns with China’s pursuit of high-quality development. 

Transcript

Staying the Course (I)

Today, as we continue with our Climate Cooperation series, we’ll hear from China’s Vice Minister of Ecology and Environment who says China will fulfill its international responsibilities on climate issues not only because it’s the right thing to do, but also because it aligns with China’s pursuit of high-quality development. 

In the world’s efforts on tackling climate change, China has fulfilled its responsibilities as a major developing country, taken robust climate policies and actions, promoted the construction of a fair, reasonable, cooperative and win-win global climate governance system, and made great contributions to addressing global climate change.

In an interview with NewsChina, Li Gao, Vice Minister of China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment, said, “The key is how to organically combine China’s national interests with the common interests of the international community while recognizing global development trends.”

Since 1997, Li Gao has been working on policy research and international cooperation on sustainable development, environmental protection, and climate change. Since 2005, he has participated in international climate change talks as one of China’s main negotiators. In 2008, he participated in the establishment of the Department of Climate Change of the National Development and Reform Commission. In August 2012, Li became Deputy Director General of the Climate Change Department, and in October 2017, became the Director General. After an institutional reform of the State Council, the department came under the Ministry of Ecology and Environment in April 2018, where Li continued to serve as Director General until August 2023. And most recently in February of this year, Li was appointed as Vice Minister of Ecology and Environment of China.

Over the years, Li has participated in and been responsible for organizing the implementation of national strategy to address climate change, and the formulation of climate plans, objectives, and policies. He organized and coordinated the Chinese government delegation for UN climate change negotiations, led the construction and launch of China’s carbon emissions trading market, and helped implement international climate change treaties.

Li played an important role in research and development into the proposal for China’s carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals announced in 2020. He was also elected vice president of the COP28 climate change conference, which took place in Dubai in late 2023.

What follows is the translated transcript of NewsChina’s interview with Vice Minister Li, and I believe you will immediately appreciate the detail and depth of his responses. 

Our first question is about China’s climate change policies. How have they changed? And why did China propose in 2020 to peak CO2 emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060?

The Vice Minister replied, China has always attached great importance to addressing climate change. In particular, this is the case since [in 2012] the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (or CPC) decided to make climate change a high priority for national governance. We formulated a national strategy to address climate change and made the major strategic decision to achieve carbon peak and carbon neutrality. Reports given to the CPC National Congress [held every five years] since 2007 have provided more and more comprehensive guidance on addressing climate change. 

The Five-Year plans that are formulated for national economic and social development have set increasingly clear and specific objectives and tasks on addressing climate change. The working mechanism has become more systematic and has continuously improved, with wider engagement of government agencies to make the system more complete. China has already made a climate target system in which short-term, medium-term and long-term goals are well connected and will be implemented in a planned and step-by-step manner. 

China has formulated a policy system covering macroeconomics, fiscal, finance, pricing, energy, industry, transportation, construction, technology, environmental protection and other fields. This policy framework works in coordination with market mechanisms. China has also established a working system with top-level design and coordination by the central government, joint implementation by ministries and local governments at all levels, and participation by enterprises and society.

In my opinion, there were both international and domestic reasons for China to put forward these carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals in 2020. 

In the international dimension, there is increasing awareness of the urgency of addressing climate change. The Paris Agreement [reached in December 2015] set a global goal for combating climate change, and it required each country to submit their own nationally determined contributions [NDCs] around 2020, formulate a long-term low-emission strategy, and enhance the implementation in accordance with the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities. As a responsible major country, China must take up its role in addressing global challenges and fulfill its international obligations. 

From a domestic perspective, China has entered a new stage of development and is facing more prominent resource and environmental constraints. People have higher expectations for the quality of the ecological environment. The international political and economic situation, the direction of industrial competition and the trade environment have also undergone tremendous changes. China can no longer follow a path of high energy consumption and high emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases. We must accelerate economic transformation and upgrading, foster new growth engines and enhance industrial competitiveness. We need to set medium- and long-term goals to guide and promote a green low-carbon transformation and high-quality development.

Meanwhile, China is aware that the key to achieving these targets lies in green and low-carbon technological innovation. Green and low-carbon development has become a global trend, and all major countries are promoting technological research and development. This will speed up the large-scale application and progress of low-carbon, zero-carbon and negative-carbon technologies, lead to the rapid development of related industries and accelerate the energy transition, thus releasing huge potential for emissions reduction. All these factors solidified our resolve to propose these dual carbon goals. 

As stated in the 20th CPC National Congress report in 2022, “Reaching peak carbon emissions and achieving carbon neutrality will mean a broad and profound systemic socio-economic transformation.” This is not what anyone else is asking us to do, but what we believe we must do. Achieving these dual carbon goals is not only China’s commitment, responsibility and contribution to address the global climate challenge, but also an essential requirement for us to keep pace with the global trend of green and low-carbon development, to realize high-quality development and promote Chinese modernization in the new era. We will continue our efforts to honor the pledged goals on carbon peak and carbon neutrality in our own way and at our own speed. 

NewsChina pointed out that China established a policy framework called “1+N”, which combines top-level designs with multiple supporting policies, in 2021 to achieve the dual carbon goals, and in 2022 it released the National Climate Change Adaption Strategy 2035. And asked, does this mean that China has established a complete policy framework for mitigating and adapting to climate change? Are there economic and social risks China should pay special attention to so they do not influence the green transition process?

Vice Minister Li’s in-depth reply is as follows: Due to years of efforts, China has established a relatively complete policy framework for climate mitigation and adaptation. The policy orientation and reform direction are clear, but the policy and institutional system needs to be further enriched and continuously improved in practice. For example, we have proposed a carbon emission statistics and accounting system, a carbon labeling and certification system, and a product carbon footprint management system. The next step is to accelerate the introduction of related policies.

As a country vulnerable to climate change, China published two national climate change adaptation strategies in 2013 and 2022, respectively. But in general, we have yet to have sufficient studies and understanding about the influence and risks of climate change, or pay enough attention to adaption work. We still need to improve adaptation capacity. Therefore, at the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC [in July 2024], reforms to improve the work system of adaptation to climate change were proposed.

Given China’s coal-intensive energy mix, its industrial structure dominated by heavy industry, a relatively low resource utilization efficiency and insufficient low-carbon technology, we must properly deal with four relationships in the process of realizing our dual carbon goals.

First, development and emissions reduction. Cutting emissions does not mean decreasing industrial activity or zero emissions, but rather driving a green transition with booming economic development. We need to reduce carbon emissions while ensuring energy security, food security, industrial and supply chain security and the people’s normal lives.

Second, coordinating national and local actions. On the one hand, we must promote policy coordination and make concerted efforts. On the other hand, we need to find the correct way to adjust the industrial structure of different regions and build action plans to peak carbon dioxide emissions and achieve carbon neutrality based on full consideration of the regional distribution of resources and industrial specializations, rather than imposing uniform requirements.

Third, long-term and short-term objectives. We need to think in the long term, maintain strategic resolve and stay committed to implementation. We also need to stay grounded in reality and get the pace and intensity right in cutting carbon emissions instead of pursuing quick success.

Fourth, the government and the market. We should better coordinate an effective government and an efficient market, and put in place both restraints and incentives to better leverage the role of market mechanisms and price signals.

We should also adopt proper measures to ensure a just transition and reduce negative impacts. It is necessary to provide support for sectors, enterprises and individuals that are most affected through industrial and social policies. For example, we need to develop a transition policy for coal-related industries, guide colleges and universities to adjust the courses they offer to be in line with the needs of green and low-carbon development, help high-emitting enterprises understand policy and market shifts to better prepare for the transition, and provide policy and financial support to small- and medium-sized enterprises and vulnerable groups, including necessary social security and job training for the unemployed.

Well, that concludes part one of our interview with Vice Minister Li Gao, and we hope you’ll tune in next week to hear the second half. Our theme music is by the famous film score composer Roc Chen. We want to thank our writers Li Jia and Wang Yan, translator Du Guodong and copy editor Pu Ren. And thank you for listening. I hope you enjoyed it, and if you did, please tell a friend, so they too can understand The Context!