More effort needed to meet carbon-neutral target
Improving climate resilience is the most pressing task facing humankind in recent times, a Chinese climate official said.
“The impact of climate change is stronger and faster than we expected,” said Chao Qingchen, vice director of the National Climate Center.
“Even if all the countries that have set carbon-neutral targets can meet their commitments, the global temperature will still exceed 2.1 degrees Celsius by the end of this century from pre-industrial levels,” Chao said.
China has announced that it would strive to bring carbon dioxide emissions to a peak before 2030 and become carbon neutral before 2060 to tackle climate change.
Compared with developed countries, China needs to make more efforts to achieve the carbon-neutral goal, Chao said, urging more technological innovations, including promoting electrification of all sectors, developing negative emissions technologies and strengthening global cooperation.
China will increase the share of non-fossil fuels in its primary energy consumption to around 25 percent and bring its total installed capacity of wind and solar power to more than 1.2 billion kilowatts by 2030.
The country’s meteorological department has set up the most systematic and standardized integrated space-air-ground meteorological observation network, which is an authoritative source of data for climate change research, she said.
Meteorological authorities should improve their monitoring and evaluation of greenhouse gases as well as national and regional carbon sink potential to contribute to decision-making in government, Chao added.