Interview: China's quest for carbon neutrality boon to global green agenda, says UNEP official

NAIROBI, July 19 (Xinhua) -- China has pursued a pathway to low-carbon development and has enhanced the protection of nature, injecting vitality into the global green agenda, a United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) official has said.

"We expect that China will continue to deepen its international cooperation in climate areas, share its good practices in carbon emission reduction, and support other developing countries in tackling climate change," Tu Ruihe, head of the UNEP China Office, told Xinhua in a recent interview in Nairobi.

He said that Beijing's quest to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060 will have a positive impact on the global fight against climate change.

With the national carbon neutrality goal announced this year, China has mapped out robust measures to cut greenhouse gas emissions, and such a low-carbon development pathway helps realize green innovations, creates more relevant jobs and benefits the whole society, said Tu.

"Low-carbon economy will become key in enhancing international competitiveness," he said, adding that China has been fulfilling its obligations to revitalize the global fight.

China has been striving to achieve the goal of building a "beautiful China" and an ecological civilization, he said.

The country has come up with coherent policies and regulations to promote the transition to a green economy, with local governments and the private sector fully involved in this venture, he added.

In China, over 20 ministries are involved in dealing climate change, while policies related to carbon reduction and energy saving have been incorporated into the national economy to boost the green agenda, Tu said.

He also lauded China's large-scale reforestation which is among the first in the world in terms of area and helps foster climate resilience.

Tu noted that China has over 30 percent of the world's total installed capacity of clean energy and has emerged as the number one seller of fuel-efficient cars.

Tu commended China for promoting South-South cooperation, including training and capacity-building for environmental professionals in Africa.

"We expect the newly established China-Africa Environmental Cooperation Center will play its important role" in the continent's green aspirations, he said.

He noted that a partnership between China and the UNEP has revolved around sharing best practices and raising public awareness to advance national, regional and global environmental agendas.

In addition, the UNEP and China have started to strengthen coordination in policy-making in such areas as climate change adaptation, ecosystem management and people's livelihoods.

China has also rallied behind Africa's green aspirations in air and water quality monitoring, pollution control and drylands management, Tu said.

"We expect the newly established China-Africa Environmental Cooperation Center will play its important role in this area," he said.