LONDON, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- China's aim to have CO2 emissions peak before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060 will help "galvanize global action on the climate crisis across many more countries," CEO of the London-based Climate Group Helen Clarkson has said.
"This is a landmark announcement as China has set out an ultimate end-point emissions target," Clarkson from the international non-profit organization told Xinhua in a recent interview via email.
"There is no doubt that efforts from China will play a major role in shaping how the rest of the world progresses on climate action," she said.
China has pledged to take more vigorous and effective approaches when pursuing green and sustainable development, she added.
"With the EU (European Union) also looking to increase its target, this (China's recent announcement of emissions target) is helping to ensure the world stay aligned to the goals of the Paris Agreement," Clarkson said.
"Leaders from across the world will be keen to understand the details of how China will progress in achieving these actions," she also said.
China's CO2 emissions in 2018 were 45.8 percent lower than that of 2005, meeting the emission reduction target two years ahead of schedule, said Zhang Jun, permanent representative of China to the United Nations.
Zhang made the remarks during the United Nations Security Council's ministerial-level open debate on "climate and security" in an open videoconference in July.
In 2018, the share of non-fossil fuels in China's total energy consumption reached 14.3 percent, and a quarter of the world's newly afforested area since 2000 is in China, according to Zhang.
"China is a world leader in renewable energy investment and electricity generation from renewable sources," Clarkson said.
She also noted that some leading Chinese companies are members of their organization's global programs for clean energy, clean transport and energy efficiency not only because they eye business opportunities but also due to their strategic commitment to becoming climate citizens.
She expressed her hope that with the latest emission target announcement, "renewables and electric vehicles will grow as part of China's energy mix even more quickly, with greater investment in energy efficiency in parallel."
She believed that China has adopted more innovative financing models to support a sustainable economy during the past few years, by further developing its green bond market, establishing a national green development fund and launching a national carbon market.
In Clarkson's opinion, the signs of green development are promising even though the world economy has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many major economies are building green stimulus packages into their recovery plans. A few months ago, the EU pledged 550 billion euros (699.9 billion U.S. dollars) to green projects over the next seven years, the largest ever made, according to Clarkson.
"It was recently reported that China will probably be the only G20 country who will see a positive economic growth this year. The world expects China to play the leading role in not only climate action but also lead the world economy to a robust green recovery," said Clarkson. Enditem
