DURBAN, South Africa, Dec. 6, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- At China's official side event during United Nations Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa, leaders from China's National Development Reform Commission (NDRC) and United Nations Development Programme discussed China's policies and actions for addressing climate change and specifically addressed China's Policies and Action Plans for Green and Low Carbon Development as included in the Twelfth Five Year Plan (FYP).
Keynote speeches were given by Su Wei, Director General of Climate Change at NDRC and Veerle Vandeweerd, Director of the Environment and Energy Group, Bureau of Development Policy at UNDP headquarters.
"China's stated intention to aim ambitiously at a low carbon economy and society is the clearest indication yet from any developing country to interlink its climate change and development goals much more closely," said Ms. Vandeweerd.
UNDP considers the 12th FYP as China's most ambitious to date in terms of environment, energy and climate change. If achieved, each of the goals and targets within the 12th FYP represents a significant advance in reducing China's fossil fuel consumption, promoting low carbon energy sources, and restructuring the economy to make it more climate resilient. It also initiates the important goal of "gradually establishing a carbon trade market," providing support to those provinces with an interest in piloting carbon trade schemes. Additionally, the plan highlights and addresses human development concerns, notably the growing challenges of unbalanced growth and inequity.
"Many countries, and what is even more extraordinary, many cities and regions within countries are not waiting for a global deal to arrive but are taking action by introducing policies and regulatory frameworks," said Vandeweerd. "China is an exemplary case of this group of countries."
A panel of experts joined the two keynote speakers for a discussion on China's new plans. The participants included Liu Yanhua, Counsellor of the State Council, Zhou Dadi, Professor of ERI at the NDRC; Martin Khor, Executive Director of the South Centre and Zou Ji, Professor of Renmin University. Li Junfeng, Deputy Director General of the ERI at the NDRC served as moderator.
This side-event, along with one held earlier in the morning to describe the creation of the National Climate Change Strategy Research and International Cooperation Center (NCSC), was an occasion for China to discuss internationally its strategies to address climate change in the context of the 12th FYP.
UNDP has contributed actively to energy and climate change efforts in the previous 11th FYP with a relevant portfolio of projects and is committed to continue to play an important role in the current FYP through innovative programmes and a policy and knowledge work. The recently established NCSC is one key avenue for collaborating and supporting China's climate change efforts.
"The deliberate new way of bringing together climate change and development in China is unique. It is an experiment to watch and to support," said Vandeweerd.
The COP17 in Durban, that includes representatives of the world's governments, international organizations and civil society, is seen by many observers as the last opportunity to find a global consensus on second commitment period of Kyoto Protocol, expiring on Dec 31, 2012. The Conference will also host the global discussions aimed to provide the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change with a Long Term Cooperative Action, according to the Bali Roadmap.
