Accelerated green transition stressed

President’s proposals at COP26 offer road map for tackling the global climate crisis, experts say

President Xi Jinping emphasized the importance of upholding multilateral consensus, focusing on concrete actions and accelerating the green transition to tackle climate change and revive the world economy.

He made the remark in a written statement for the World Leaders Summit at the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, or COP26. The twoday summit kicked off on Nov 1 in Glasgow, Scotland.

“As we speak, the adverse impacts of climate change have become increasingly evident, presenting a growing urgency for global action. How to respond to climate change and revive the world economy are challenges of our times that we must meet,” Xi said in the statement.

He also said that the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Paris Agreement provide the fundamental legal basis for international climate cooperation.

Parties need to build on existing consensus, increase mutual trust, step up cooperation and work together to deliver a successful COP26 in Glasgow, he said.

According to Xi, parties need to honor their commitments, set realistic targets and visions, and do their best according to national conditions to deliver climate action measures.

“Developed countries should not only do more themselves, but should also provide support to help developing countries do better,” he said.

Xi also emphasized the importance of harnessing innovations in science and technology to transform and upgrade the energy and resource sectors as well as the industrial structure and consumption patterns.

The president said that China will continue to prioritize ecological conservation and pursue a green and lowcarbon path to development.

China will foster a green, low-carbon and circular economic system at a faster pace, press ahead with industrial structure adjustment, and rein in the irrational development of energy-intensive and high-emission projects, he said.

Xi said that China will also speed up the transition to green and lowcarbon energy, vigorously develop renewable energy, and plan and build large wind and photovoltaic power stations.

“I hope all parties will take stronger actions to jointly tackle the climate challenge and protect the planet, the shared home for us all,” he said.

COP26 is the first conference after the five-year review cycle under the Paris Agreement adopted in 2015.

Foreign experts and scholars said Xi’s three-pronged proposal — upholding multilateral consensus, focusing on concrete actions and accelerating the green transition — is vitally important for the world community to address the climate challenge.

British author and political commentator Carlos Martinez said he “essentially agrees” with Xi’s proposals during the COP26 conference. “The essential thing we need to do is to uphold multilateralism. We need to start working together, stop playing blame games,” Martinez said.

He called on all parties to stick to the Paris Agreement and the framework of common but differentiated responsibilities to deal with climate issues.

“Let’s coordinate around how we can support developing countries, especially the least developed countries that don’t have the financial and infrastructure resources to reduce carbon emissions,” he added.

Antony Froggatt, deputy director of Environment and Society Programme at Chatham House, a London-based think tank that is also known as the Royal Institute of International Affairs, said global cooperation and technical innovation are crucial for tackling global challenges like climate change.

He gave an example of cooperation among the European Union, China and the United States, saying that there are great potentials for the three sides to work together in the renewable energy industry.

“It is these three blocs that not only deliver the world’s biggest deployment of technologies, but by doing so, can enable falling costs, which enables other countries also to deploy these technologies,” Froggatt said.

Danny Alexander, vice-president of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, said he believes that green transition will be accelerated when addressing climate change.

“Green investment can be a crucial part of the economic recovery over the next several years after the COVID-19 pandemic”, given the need for clean energy and urban projects such as subways, light rails, water and sanitation projects, he said.

“Every project now has to also be able to be adapted and resilient to climate change in the future,” he added.

Pui Jeng Leong, a media veteran in Brunei, said Xi’s proposal of focusing on concrete actions is highly necessary.

Actions speak louder than words in terms of efforts to cope with climate change, he said, adding China has been making all-out efforts to honor its carbon reduction commitments and push for green transformation.