Xi Jinping underlines China is on its own carbon reduction path during US climate envoy John Kerry’s Beijing visit
- Commitment to reduce emissions is ‘unswerving’ but will not be controlled by anyone else, Chinese leader tells senior officials
- The president’s remarks coincide with US special envoy on climate change John Kerry’s trip to Beijing for talks
Xi was speaking at a two-day national conference on ecological and environmental protection that started on Monday, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported on Tuesday night.
“China’s commitments are unswerving, but the path towards the goals as well as the manner, pace and intensity of efforts to achieve them should and must be determined by the country itself, rather than swayed by others,” he said.
“[We should] actively and steadily work toward carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, foster a clean, low-carbon, safe and efficient energy system, accelerate the formation of a new power system and strengthen the country’s capability of guaranteeing oil and gas security.”
Xi also urged the country to safeguard ecological security and nuclear and radiation safety to “ensure that the natural environment and conditions, which are the foundation of survival and development, are not threatened or damaged”.
He asked for a concerted legal, market, technological and policy effort to achieve his goals.
