Environment Archives - Page 6 of 6 - Friends of Socialist China

Carlos Martinez: Blaming China for the climate crisis is shameful and hypocritical

The West has followed a Cold War agenda of demonising the world’s most populous country, when in fact China’s per-capita greenhouse gas emissions are less than half those of the US; meanwhile China leads the way in renewable energy, reforestation and electric vehicles. This article by Friends of Socialist China co-editor Carlos Martinez first appeared in the Morning Star on 5 November 2021.

In the run-up to the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference, currently taking place in Glasgow, politicians and media in the West conducted a coordinated and insistent campaign to shift responsibility for the climate crisis on to China.

US President Joe Biden claimed in his closing statement to the G20 Summit, the day before the start of COP26, that China “basically didn’t show up in terms of any commitments to deal with climate change.” He further stated that meaningful progress on climate change negotiations is “going to require us to continue to focus on what China’s not doing.”

Carlos Martinez: US attempts to blame China for the climate crisis are hypocritical and ridiculous

Friends of Socialist China co-editor Carlos Martinez was interviewed by Sean Blackmon and Jacquie Luqman on the Sputnik Radio show By Any Means Necessary on 02 November 2021. They discuss the misleading attacks on China over climate, the reality behind China’s carbon emissions and its climate change mitigation efforts, how the Chinese economic system facilitates those efforts, and the hypocrisy of the West using the threat of climate catastrophe as part of its cold war drive against China. The audio is embedded below.

Xi Jinping’s remarks at COP26 World Leaders Summit

We are pleased to publish the written statement of President Xi Jinping delivered today to the COP-26 meeting in Glasgow. The Chinese President makes three essential points – he stresses the need to uphold multilateral consensus; to focus on concrete actions; and to accelerate the green transition. This succinct and principled statement not only sets out the key tasks facing the entire international community if we are to prevent climate catastrophe – it also constitutes a fitting retort to those national leaders who would rather engage in vacuous rhetoric and foster a new Cold War against China and Russia than take concrete actions and face up to their responsibilities.

Honorable Prime Minister Boris Johnson,

Colleagues,

It gives me great pleasure to attend the World Leaders Summit and discuss ways to address the climate challenge. 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 Jinping at the G20 Summit expounds a vision of peace, cooperation and sustainable development

We are very pleased to print the text of President Xi Jinping’s speech, delivered by video link on October 30, to the G20 Summit in Rome. In his speech President Xi makes five key calls to the international community, namely to:

1. Work in solidarity to combat COVID-19
2. Cooperate to promote recovery
3. Embrace inclusiveness to achieve common development
4. Pursue innovation to tap growth potential
5. Promote harmonious coexistence to achieve green and sustainable development

Taken together, these five themes represent a comprehensive programme for humanity to overcome its present grave challenges and advance to a better future. It represents the antithesis of the new Cold War peddled by the various imperialist powers even whilst they also intensify an increasingly ill disguised contention between themselves. President Xi’s proposals constitute a programme around which the broadest united front of countries at various levels of development can coalesce and should be supported by all progressive forces.

Your Excellency Prime Minister Mario Draghi,
Dear Colleagues,

I wish to begin by sincerely thanking Italy, the G20 President, for the great efforts it has made in hosting this Summit.

Is China the world’s worst climate culprit?

This very interesting article by Aaron Bastani, first published in Novara Media, takes on the dominant narrative around China and climate change – that China is largely responsible for the climate crisis – and highlights the extraordinary progress China has made in recent years in the fields of renewable energy, afforestation and low-carbon transport. Republished with permission.

One of the most striking statistics in grasping the speed at which we are transforming the planet is how China consumes more concrete every three years than the United States did in the whole of the 20th century.

Alongside the acceleration of how we use resources, this fact highlights the unique role China now plays in climate change. The world’s largest country, with a population greater than Europe and the Americas combined, has leapt into industrial modernity. This may be one of the most important events in human history, but it carries an immense ecological cost.

Dee Knight: War threats add to climate change danger on eve of COP26

On the eve of the COP26 Conference in Glasgow, we are very pleased to publish this timely article contributed by Dee Knight, member of the Anti-War Subcommittee of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) International Committee, showing how the two vital struggles, against climate catastrophe and imperialist war, are inextricably linked and relating this to US imperialism’s many decades of implacable hostility to the Chinese revolution in particular as well as to socialism and national liberation in Asia generally.

In the buildup to the World Climate Change summit, slated for Halloween and the first week of November in Glasgow, a NY Times report said “China must pivot away from coal immediately” to avoid climate disaster. The article says “attention is riveted on China and whether it will do more to cut emissions.” It quoted a British member of Parliament saying “China is responsible for almost a quarter of all global emissions right now.”

The Times article acknowledges that China leads the world in hydroelectric, solar and wind power. While admitting the United States has released more human-generated carbon dioxide over the past century than any other country, the article says “China is the biggest current emitter now by a wide margin,”. But on a per capita basis, China’s emissions are less than half the U.S. total. And China is converting to renewables much faster than the U.S.

Zheng Zeguang: China will honour its climate pledges – look at the changes we have already made

We are pleased to republish this article by Zheng Zeguang, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to the United Kingdom, originally published on The Guardian website on 27 October 2021.

The article explains that a national consensus already exists in China around tackling climate change and protecting biodiversity. It details the progress China has already made in terms of climate action and its plans for the coming decades; however, Ambassador Zheng also makes the point that China, still a developing country, cannot be expected to decarbonise as quickly as the developed countries.

In the run-up to the climate conference in Glasgow, there are suggestions that without real participation and greater contribution from China, neither the conference nor the global response to climate change will get anywhere. The unstated worry is this: will China honour its pledges to reduce emissions?

Infographic: China leads the fight against climate breakdown

With COP26 coming up, Western media and politicians are trying to shift responsibility for the future of the planet on to China, as the world’s biggest emitter (in absolute terms) of greenhouse gases.

They present a distorted and hypocritical narrative that fails to mention some important facts:

China’s per capita emissions are less than half those of the US, and its average household power consumption is 1/8th that of the US.
China is the world leader in renewable energy, with a total capacity greater than the US, EU and Britain combined.
China’s target of peak emissions by 2030 and carbon neutral by 2060 will be the fastest journey from carbon peak to carbon neutral in history.
China is making a concerted effort to reduce its reliance on coal. Coal is currently 56% of China’s power mix, down from 74% in 2005.
China’s forest coverage has increased from 12% in the early 1980s to 23% today. It has established national parks covering 230,000 km squared.
China leads the world in electric cars, trains and buses – around 99 percent of the world’s 400,000 electric buses are in China.

In summary, China is making remarkable progress on climate change. Let’s shift the focus back to the developed countries – which are responsible for the bulk of cumulative atmospheric greenhouse gas – to show leadership and provide support to the rest of the world.

China’s climate change white paper confirms its green commitments

This timely article from CGTN by Andrew Korybko, written in the lead-up to the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), provides a summary of the newly-released white paper Responding to Climate Change: China’s Policies and Actions, issued by the State Council Information Office of China. The paper reiterates China’s strong continuing commitment to tackling climate change and its leadership in the development and deployment of renewable energy. It also emphasises that China is still a developing country and must forge a path that combines its development needs with protecting the environment. The paper reaffirms China’s adherence to the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities in which the developed countries, responsible for the bulk of cumulative greenhouse gas emissions, to move fastest towards zero-carbon.

China released its white paper on “Responding to Climate Change: China’s Policies and Actions” on October 27. The State Council Information Office (SCIO) then held a press conference discussing this very important document, with Vice Minister of Ecology and Environment Ye Min elaborating on its main points and answering the press’ questions. He emphasized how the white paper is based on Xi Jinping Thought’s concept of ecological civilization envisioning global solutions to this challenge in order to create a community of common destiny.

Nine key moments that changed China’s mind about climate change

This article from Carbon Brief gives a very detailed and useful summary of how the Chinese government’s attitude towards climate change, and its understanding of its own responsibilities, have changed over the last two decades. The article is quite long but is well worth the effort for those wishing to understand this important issue.

Over the past year, China’s president Xi Jinping has made three key commitments to tackle climate change.

In September 2020, he told the United Nations general assembly: “We aim to have CO2 emissions peak before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060.”

Then, last month, he offered a further commitment to the same gathering of world leaders. China “will not build new coal-fired power projects abroad”, he said via videolink.

China makes further key pledges around carbon neutrality and renewable energy

The following article, first published in Xinhua on 25 October 2021, summarises a new document jointly released by the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council, reiterating China’s pledges to reach peak carbon emissions by 2030 and zero carbon by 2060. It includes a new commitment to increase the share of non-fossil energy consumption to at least 80 percent by 2060.

Chinese authorities on Sunday unveiled a guiding document on the country’s work to achieve carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals under the new development philosophy, laying out key specific targets and measures for the coming decades.

By 2030, China’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions will peak, stabilize and then decline, and by 2060, China will be carbon neutral and have fully established a green, low-carbon and circular economy, it says, reiterating the country’s previous pledge.

Keith Lamb: Ecological civilization – there is no other way

This article by Keith Lamb in CGTN analyses Xi Jinping’s speech at the Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity in Kunming, Yunnan, and highlights the importance of the ‘ecological civilization’ concept. The author urges the West to drop its ‘clash of civilizations’ propaganda and to join with China and the rest of the world in building what Xi refers to as ‘a shared future for all life on Earth’.

At the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Kunming, southwest China’s Yunnan Province, Chinese President Xi Jinping gave a keynote speech that once again surpassed the outdated clash of civilizations narrative. Instead, by talking about “building a community of all life on Earth,” he spread the message of a common destiny of mankind where protecting biodiversity, sustainable development and environmental protection are a shared global responsibility.

In his speech, Xi more than once mentioned the concept of ecological civilization, which has become one of China’s key developmental principles. As China reflected on its rapid development, which came at the cost of severe environmental degradation, the urgency of building an ecological civilization became increasingly acute.

Xi Jinping speech at the COP15 leaders’ summit on biodiversity

In his keynote speech delivered on 12 October via video link at the leaders’ summit of the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15), Xi Jinping reiterated China’s total commitment to strengthening biodiversity and tackling other key environmental issues. Among other things, he announced that China would set up a 1.5 billion RMB fund to support biodiversity protection in developing countries, and that an extensive system of national parks would be established in China.

Dear Colleagues,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Friends,

Good afternoon.

It gives me great pleasure to meet you virtually in Kunming and jointly attend the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity. On behalf of the government and people of China as well as in my own name, I wish to extend a warm welcome to all the distinguished guests.

As a Chinese saying goes, “All beings flourish when they live in harmony and receive nourishment from Nature.” Biodiversity makes Earth full of vigor and vitality, and lays the foundation for human survival and development. Protecting biodiversity helps protect Earth, our common homeland, and contributes to humanity’s sustainable development.

China announces massive greening plan to achieve carbon goals

Important news relating to China’s afforestation program. This article was originally published on China.org.cn on 25 August 2021.

China plans to plant 500 million mu (about 33.33 million hectares) of forests and grasslands in the next five years — 100 million mu per year — to help achieve its carbon emission reduction goals, according to the country’s forestry authorities.

The task includes planting 54 million mu of trees and 46 million mu of grass each year, said Zhang Wei, head of the ecological protection and restoration department of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration (NFGA).

The afforestation plan is part of China’s efforts to fulfill its commitment to peaking carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, as forests and grasslands are important carbon sinks that absorb and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

A clash of civilizations means a collapse of civilization

We are republishing this important article by Keith Lamb – an expert in China’s international relations – on how the US-led New Cold War is standing in the way of urgently-needed global cooperation to prevent climate breakdown. The article was first published in CGTN on 10 August 2021.

After Donald Trump took office, a new cold war started heating up between China and the United States. Regrettably, U.S. President Joe Biden doesn’t seem predisposed to cooling tensions anytime soon. However, beyond man-made cold wars, which if they turn hot, threaten the collapse of civilization with nuclear weapons, there is another war taking place where the U.S. and China are, or at least should be, the closest of allies.

This war is also man-made but, unlike the cold war, it is a hot one. And it’s getting hotter. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), human activity has warmed the earth by 1.1 degrees Celsius since 1850-1900. The IPCC’s new report now believes we need rapid large-scale action to prevent the earth from warming by 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius within the next 20 years. This amount of warming is believed to be a tipping point that, if reached, could lead to climate change spiralling beyond repair.