On September 26, Ambassador Zhang Jun, Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations, briefed the media on Vice President Han Zheng’s attendance at the General Debate of the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly and high-level events. Regarding the response to climate change, Ambassador Zhang Jun emphasized that China is a doer that always puts its words into actions, in sharp contrast to the lip service by some Western countries.
Ambassador Zhang noted that some negative trends in global climate governance deserve our serious attention. Developed countries try to evade or even overturn the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, and put forward unrealistically high requirements for developing countries. Some Western countries, despite their high-profile stance, have only empty “ambitions” but no actions, promises but no implementation. They have even backtracked on issues such as cutting fossil fuels and promoting clean energy. These behaviors are impeding the international climate actions, and costing the world the precious window of opportunity. In response to this, China made it clear at the UNGA General Debate that we should fully and effectively implement the Paris Agreement, and that developed countries should do more to reduce emissions and provide developing countries with financing, technology, and capacity building support.
Ambassador Zhang pointed out that in order to deal with climate change, we need not only goals, but also concrete actions. On climate issues, China is a doer that always puts its words into actions. We keep our promises, honor our commitments, prioritize ecological conservation, and pursue a green and low-carbon path to development. We have completely stopped the building of new coal-fired power projects abroad, actively supported fellow developing countries in pursuing green and low-carbon energy development, and helped build more green energy projects. China has made concrete contributions to addressing climate change, in sharp contrast to the lip services by some Western countries.
