China calls for joint action in tackling climate change

OSAKA -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi called upon all parties to honor their commitments and take concrete actions in tackling climate change at a trilateral meeting of China, France and the United Nations here on Saturday.

The meeting, held on the sidelines of a summit of the Group of 20 major economies, was chaired by Wang and attended by French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Referring to the progress China has made in reducing carbon emissions, Wang reiterated the country's commitment to addressing climate change.

In 2018, China cut its carbon emissions per unit of GDP by about 45.8 percent compared with the 2005 level, reaching the target two years in advance.

After establishing a nationwide carbon emission trading system in December 2017, China saw its share of non-fossil fuels in primary energy consumption reached 14.3 percent in 2018, closing on the target of 15 percent by 2020.

At the meeting, the Chinese official emphasized that tackling climate change requires both enthusiasm and perseverance, while faith, action, cooperation and adherence to principles are also indispensable in the process.

Wang said the world will not stop pushing forward even though a certain country has withdrawn from the push to tackle the issue.

"Climate change is a global challenge, and we have no other option but cooperation," he said, urging developed countries to fulfill their pledges of mobilizing 100 billion U.S. dollars a year by 2020 to help strengthen the capability of developing countries in dealing with the issue.

Wang also voiced China's support for the 2019 Climate Action Summit, which the UN secretary-general will host in New York this September.

Hailing the France-China cooperation on climate change, Le Drian said France stands ready to make joint efforts with China to push the international community to implement the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

For his part, Guterres spoke highly of China's role in tackling climate change, voicing willingness to work with China and France to encourage countries concerned to take actions.

The three sides agreed that all countries should uphold multilateralism, fulfill the Paris Agreement commitments, and help push for fruitful results of the 2019 Climate Action Summit and the 25th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP25) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), scheduled for Dec 2-13, so as to instill new and strong impetus into global climate governance.