Ministry vows to gear up climate work

New commitments outlined by President Xi offer clearer path to targets, says vice-minister

The Ministry of Ecology and Environment will make more efforts to promote climate legislation and work with other government bodies for a more coordinated national response to achieve carbon neutrality in line with the country's latest environmental priorities, a senior official said on Monday.

President Xi Jinping had announced in September that China aims to have carbon dioxide emissions peak before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060, and on Saturday he set out the nation's further climate commitments as the world marked the fifth anniversary of the Paris Agreement on climate change.

The new commitments, which provide a clearer path to meeting the green targets, have injected strong impetus into global climate efforts, Vice-Minister of Ecology and Environment Zhao Yingmin said at a symposium on climate change on Monday.

Speaking via video link to the Climate Ambition Summit on Saturday, Xi had said that by 2030, China will lower its carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by more than 65 percent from the 2005 level and increase the share of nonfossil fuels in its primary energy consumption to about 25 percent.

Joining hands with other government bodies, Zhao said, the ministry, which is the leading government organization on climate change work, will "make intensified efforts and be more resolute to implement the commitments".

It will endeavor to promote climate legislation, which is "key in China's efforts to peak carbon emissions and realize carbon neutrality".

Zhao said efforts will also be made to improve goal-oriented performance evaluation and accountability systems.

On the basis of the current national compulsory target on carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP, the ministry will also promote the establishment of a national emissions cap in line with its climate work, he said.

Wang Yi, a member of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and the NPC Environmental Protection and Resources Conservation Committee, said there has yet to be a special law in China that could well regulate carbon dioxide emissions.

Although the country's law on air pollution control covers how the government should align greenhouse gas control with the management of air pollutants, including fine particulate matter and sulfur dioxide, it is still not strong enough on regulating carbon dioxide emissions, he said.

"A special law will especially be needed after China sets a cap on emissions," Wang said.

National response

Efforts should also be made to ensure a coordinated national response that fully takes into account conditions in different sectors and regions, he said, adding that decarbonization is especially challenging in the transportation sector and areas with rich fossil energy reserves.

Su Jie, deputy director-general of the Ministry of Transport's department of planning, called for the introduction of an interagency coordination system to promote climate work, considering that carbon emissions control involves various sectors on both the supply and demand sides and it is highly related to people's livelihoods.

The establishment of such a coordination system could help roll out more research on achieving carbon neutrality in the transportation sector, as well as action plans and assignments for different government bodies, Su said.

houliqiang@chinadaily.com.cn