White paper China's Policies and Actions for Addressing Climate Change was released on Tuesday Morning [China.org.cn] |
China published an annual report Tuesday on its efforts to address climate change in 2012. The report, entitled China's Policies and Actions for Addressing Climate Change, was released before the opening of the Third Plenum of the 18th CPC Central Committee on Nov. 9.
The report, composed of nine chapters, details the efforts that China has made in the past year to reduce CO2 emissions, and its contribution to global efforts to address climate change.
The report said that China has reached its goal in 2012 of reducing the energy consumption and CO2 emissions per unit of GDP and has achieved positive results. CO2 emissions per unit of GDP fell 5.02 percent compared to 2011. By the end of 2012, the output of China's energy-saving and environmental-protection industries exceeded 2.7 trillion yuan (US$443 million).
China has launched low-carbon development studies on addressing climate change, which has laid the foundation for China's low-carbon development road map and has already had some initial achievements, said the report.
According to the report, China has made great efforts to optimize its energy structure by promoting the clean use of fossil fuels and non-fossil fuels. By the end of 2012, of one-time energy consumption, coal accounted for 67.1 percent, dropping 1.3 percent compared with 2011; oil and natural gas made up 18.9 percent and 5.5 percent, up 0.3 percent and 0.5 percent from the previous year; and non-fossil fuels made up 9.1 percent, up 1.1 percent compared with 2011.
The report said that China continues to play a positive and constructive role in international climate change negotiations and has pushed for positive outcomes and international cooperation at the Doha Climate Change Conference. The upcoming Warsaw 2013 Climate Change Conference, to be held between November 11 and 22, should be an implementation and launch meeting.
In July 2013, the State Council shifted the members of the National Leading Group for Addressing Climate Change, with Premier Li Keqiang appointed as group leader.