Interview | China Shows Outstanding Leadership in Coping with the Climate Crisis - Interview with Mark Watts, Executive President of C40 Cities Climate Leadership Alliance

2024-11-21

I often express the view that China has made more progress and demonstrated more leadership in addressing the climate crisis than any other country in the world, "said Mark Watts, Executive Director of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Alliance, a global network of mega cities dedicated to tackling climate change, in an interview with Xinhua News Agency during the 29th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) held in Baku, Azerbaijan on the 20th. On November 11th, in Baku, Azerbaijan, people participated in a themed side event on "Ecological Civilization and Beautiful China Practice". Xinhua News Agency reporter Meng Jing pointed out that the reason for saying this is because China has made significant investments in green transformation, including large-scale investments in renewable energy and rapid transition to electric vehicles. Currently, more than half of the global investment in solar and wind energy is happening in China; in the field of electric vehicles, most of the world's electric vehicles are not only produced in China, but also prototype designed there, "he explained." When I returned to China after only a year, I saw a significant increase in the number of clean energy vehicles on the roads, which was truly amazing. But what impressed me the most is the long-term planning of the Chinese government and what I call the 'multi-level cooperation' model, "Watts said." This cooperation model connects governments at all levels of the country, region, and city, enabling the entire country to work together to promote the climate governance process, which is lacking in most parts of the world. This model gives us hope for the future of China's green transformation. "When talking about the global climate governance process, Watts pointed out that the current global geopolitical situation is undergoing tremendous changes, which poses severe challenges and uncertainties to the global economy. But it can be certain that the climate crisis is significantly increasing, with extreme weather events such as floods and droughts constantly occurring. At the same time, practical cooperation is absolutely necessary to address climate change. Watts pointed out that "city level actions will play a leading role in creating a more sustainable and equitable future. He pointed out that mayors have long been at the forefront of climate action, introducing innovative policies at the local level to ensure continued progress in reducing emissions, improving adaptability, and preventing climate collapse. Chinese and American cities will also engage in multiple collaborations at the technological level under the C40 network. C40 was founded in 2005 and is an international city consortium dedicated to addressing climate change. Currently, it has over 90 city members. Watts gave an example that under the C40 organization, Los Angeles and Shanghai have teamed up to create the world's first trans Pacific green shipping corridor, with the goal of achieving zero carbon trans Pacific shipping lines by 2030. Afterwards, Guangzhou Port and Los Angeles Port/Long Beach Port also signed memorandums of understanding for shipping corridors. More and more cities and ports are following this important first step, and currently there are over 44 green shipping corridors worldwide. When talking about the efforts of Chinese cities to address climate change, Watts pointed out that many of the measures taken by Chinese cities for green transformation are important experiences worth learning and promoting for other cities around the world. He cited Wuhan's "sponge city" model of significantly expanding green spaces, constructing spaces for flood management, and using porous materials on roads as examples, pointing out that similar cases are worth learning from globally. (New Society)

Edit:Yi Yi    Responsible editor:Li Nian

Source:www.new.cn

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