By He Yin, People’s Daily
A national conference on ecological and environmental protection recently held in Beijing received wide attention from international personages.
They hailed China’s remarkable achievements made in the building of an ecological civilization, and recognized its firm determination to build a Beautiful China and to keep leading global environment governance on a new journey.
China is the world’s largest developing country. The remarkable achievements it has made in ecological civilization construction have inspired the world, contributing Chinese wisdom and solutions to the global ecological civilization construction.
The international community has attached high importance to China’s experiences in building ecological civilization, which calls for both science-based theoretical guidance and unswerving practice.
China has accelerated the green and low-carbon transformation of our development modes, maintained green and low-carbon development as the fundamental solution to ecological and environmental issues, accelerated the formation of green production modes and lifestyles, and laid a green foundation for high-quality development.
Today, the country has established the world’s largest clean power generation system, with the world’s largest installed capacity of hydropower, wind power, and solar power.
China focuses on a harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature in planning its development, and is continuously fostering new driving forces and new strengths for development through high-level environmental protection, which sheds light on other countries facing the same tasks of realizing development while protecting the environment.
China keeps up with the times with a global vision. It has assumed its responsibility as a major country, leading in global environment governance.
The country has played an active role in international cooperation. It has deepened its cooperation with other Belt and Road countries and regions on ecological and environmental protection, as well as sustainable development.
China established a South-South cooperation fund on climate change and the Kunming Biodiversity Fund. It also included green development projects in the nine programs of China-Africa cooperation.
Erik Solheim, former executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme, noted that the concept of ecological civilization practiced by China mirrors a positive thinking that aims at creating a better world for all.
China’s economy and society have entered a stage of high-quality development marked by faster progress in promoting green and low-carbon growth. Its ecological civilization construction is still at a critical phase amid overlapping pressures and heavy burdens.
At the national conference on ecological and environmental protection, Chinese President Xi Jinping systematically developed strategic plans of building a Beautiful China in an all-round way, which offered fundamental guidance for further strengthening ecological and environmental protection and promoting ecological civilization.
When global environmental governance is still facing various challenges, China is planning its ecological and environmental protection on the new journey from a higher position and with a broader vision and greater endeavors, which will inject new impetus into building a clean and beautiful world and building a community with a shared future for mankind.
China’s commitments and actions on carbon peaking and carbon neutrality are unswerving, but the path towards the goals as well as the manner, pace and intensity of efforts to achieve them should and must be determined by the country itself, rather than swayed by others.
Global climate governance shall uphold multilateralism, adhere to the goals and principles set out in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement, and follow the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities.
While pursuing the goals of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality and implementing the “1+N” policy framework, China will continue to provide assistance to other developing countries to the best of its ability.
Building a beautiful China is an important target for building a modern socialist country in all respects. China will continue to pursue a model of sound development featuring improved production, higher living standards, and healthy ecosystems to ensure the sustainable development of the Chinese nation.
The country will keep assisting the global ecological civilization with its own new achievements in ecological civilization, and work with other countries to make greater contributions to building a clean and beautiful world.
