Experience should be shared globally: experts
China's progress in the fight against climate change was praised by a senior UN environment official, as the landmark Paris Agreement is expected to enter into force on November 4.
Erik Solheim, the executive director of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), said he appreciated China's proactive efforts to promote the deal and the country's leading role in global environment management, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Friday.
"China is now the main driver of this agenda. Fighting climate change and pollution in the big cities of China is one process," Solheim noted during a separate interview with Indian daily newspaper The Hindu published on Monday.
Solheim added that China's innovative endeavors, such as adopting green technology to boost the green economy and increasing employment while tackling climate change and air pollution, are examples other countries should study.
The UNEP is working with the Chinese government to share the country's experiences, such as developing its economy and building its infrastructure in an environmentally friendly manner, to fully showcase China's leading role in global green development, Solheim noted.
"China has gathered plenty of experience in reducing carbon dioxide emissions, conserving energy and exploiting renewable resources during its process of urbanization and industrialization. Other developing countries could learn from the country to avoid developing economy at a high cost to the environment," Yang Fuqiang, a senior advisor at the Natural Resources Defense Council, a US-based environmental advocacy group, told the Global Times on Friday.
China has also included sustainable development as a significant part of its "Belt and Road" initiative, which means low-carbon and green technologies will be shared globally as a national strategy, said Yang.
Developing countries have suffered a lot from the negative impact of climate change, even though their greenhouse gas emissions are very low, and what they need most is financial and technical support, which China has pledged, Lin Erda, director of the Research Center of Agriculture and Climate Change under the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, told the Global Times on Friday.
China has set a good example with efforts such as helping train foreign staff and bringing technology and investment to other countries, said Lin.
In strong signs of support for the world's climate efforts, Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated China's pledge to cut its carbon emissions per unit of GDP by 60-65 percent from 2005 levels by 2030 at the Paris climate summit in late 2015.
