Countries urged to recognize challenges over tackling climate change

Countries need to recognize the difficulties and challenges in tackling climate change problems and avoid being overly optimistic of achieving the net-zero goal despite the acceleration of green technology adoption, according to a report issued by the Boao Forum for Asia Academy on Thursday.

The report identified eight major issues facing the net-zero goal, such as the selection of mechanism and path, major challenges and difficulties, behavior of businesses and consumers, and the prospect of green technology and its investment and finance.

Countries can rely on three main routes, which are self-awareness, administrative planning and market mechanism, to address climate change challenges and achieve net-zero goal, the report said.

The purpose of launching the report is to promote discussions on China and Asia's efforts to achieve carbon reduction and neutrality goals and to contribute opinions for the upcoming 2023 Climate Ambition Summit in New York and the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP28) to be held in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates later this year, said Li Baodong, secretary-general of the Boao Forum for Asia, at a news conference in Beijing.

"Solving the climate problem is a complex and systematic project, and we are far from being able to rely on commitments and government rules, and it requires a lot of capital investment and technology research and development as basic support," Li said.

In recent years, the Boao Forum for Asia has been focusing on how to achieve green and low-carbon transformation, and has conducted extensive discussions through annual meetings and roundtables to generate ideas and build consensus, according to Li.

"The Boao Forum for Asia will continue to promote the sharing of carbon neutrality experience inside and outside Asia as well as continue to explore broader cooperation space," he said.

By 2050, the energy sector with the highest carbon emissions will still not be completely decarbonized. The world is projected to emit approximately 22 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide, according to the report.

The report said it is essential to avoid being overly optimistic due to the acceleration of green technology adoption. From 2021 to 2025, the global energy transition will require an annual investment of $2.4 trillion, which accounts for 70 percent of the total transition investments, according to the report.

Additionally, the challenges of safeguarding energy security and stability need to be tackled. And there are still various fundamental tasks to be done concerning measurement, transparency, rating and ensuring integrity, the report said.

lixiang@chinadaily.com.cn