Cooperation can shape low-carbon future

Turn on your TV. Look at the news. Almost every week you are sure to see images of extreme weather conditions or natural disasters around the globe. All of these disasters cause misery and loss of human life as well as billions of yuan in damages.

Climate change is not just happening to others elsewhere in the world. Last winter was the warmest in Beijing since 1951. In the north, China is battling drought and desertification; in the south, extreme weather is on the increase.

The risks of uncontrolled climate change are serious: rising sea levels that threaten to flood coastal cities; increasingly extreme weather that jeopardises food production; and worsening water shortages.