China urges responsibility, action, coordination in tackling climate change

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L), French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian (R) and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attend a press conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Nov. 30, 2018. All nations should take responsibility, get down to action and strengthen coordination in the multilateral process in tackling climate change, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here on Friday at a three-party meeting with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on the sidelines of the Group of 20 (G20) summit. (Xinhua/Li Ming)

BUENOS AIRES, Nov. 30 -- All nations should take responsibility, get down to action and strengthen coordination in the multilateral process in tackling climate change, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here Friday.

China stands firm on curbing global warming and will push for positive results out of the next round of negotiations in Poland, Wang said at a three-party meeting with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on the sidelines of the Group of 20 (G20) summit.

At the 2015 UN Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris, Chinese President Xi Jinping pointed out that the Paris Agreement did not represent an end, but a new starting point, Wang said.

The upcoming 24th Conference of the Parties (COP24) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), set to be a significant step in the multilateral process, will be crucial for the full and effective implementation of the Paris Agreement, according to Wang.

The COP24, slated for Dec. 2-14 in Katowice of Poland, is to adopt implementation guidelines of the Paris Agreement, which was signed at the COP21 to keep a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

China, together with France and the UN, will strive for comprehensive and balanced outcomes from the COP24 and make greater contributions to a clean, beautiful world as well as a community of shared future, Wang said.

While reiterating China's pursuit of green, low-carbon and sustainable development, he urged all parties to fulfill their commitments and step up their efforts against global warming.

Le Drian, for his part, said France would like to work with China more on climate change, which shall include three-party cooperation to help other developing countries go green and low-carbon.

During the meeting, Guterres expressed gratitude to China for its vital leadership on climate change, as well as to both China and France for their leading roles in the face of this global challenge.