China aims to hit the carbon emissions peak at around 2030, promising to make the best efforts to realize the target early, according to the country's new action plan on climate change.
The country aims to cut carbon dioxide emission per unit of gross domestic product (GDP) by 60 percent to 65 percent from the 2005 level by 2030, said China's intended nationally determined contributions (INDC), a document submitted to the Secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change on Tuesday.
By 2014, carbon emissions per unit of GDP was 33.8 percent lower than the 2005 level.
The share of non-fossil fuels in its primary energy consumption will be increased to around 20 percent from the 11.2-percent ratio in 2014, and the forest stock volume is expected to add 4.5 billion cubic meters on the 2005 level by 2030, according to the plan.
China said the targets are based on the country's national circumstances, development stage, sustainable development strategy and international responsibility.
The INDC submission came ahead of the United Nations climate talks in Paris late this year. The U.N. hopes the international community will together deliver a new, ambitious and universally binding climate agreement.
Speaking at a high-level U.N. meeting on Monday, China's special representative on climate change Xie Zhenhua said "there is very little time between now and the Paris conference."
"It is crucial that all parties submit their INDCs and strengthen the implementation in accordance with their international obligations undertaken in the convention," Xie said.
In the INDC, China said climate change is a global issue that requires the collaboration of the international community, and as a developing country with a population of more than 1.3 billion, China is among those countries that are most severely affected by the adverse impacts of climate change.
"China is currently in the process of rapid industrialization and urbanization, confronting with multiple challenges..., to act on climate change is not only driven by domestic needs for sustainable development..., but also driven by the sense of responsibility to fully engage in global governance, to forge a community of shared destiny for humankind and to promote common development for all human beings," said the document.
