Xi: China to commit 1.5b yuan to biodiversity

KUNMING, China, Oct. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — A news report by chinadaily.com.cn:

President Xi Jinping on Tuesday attended via video link the leaders’ summit of the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15) and delivered a keynote speech. Here are some highlights.

On green intl cooperation

• The international community should enhance cooperation, build consensus and pool strength to build a community of all life on Earth
• Countries need to join hands and start a new journey of high-quality development for humanity
• Human activities need to be kept within the limits of the ecology and environment
• International law should be taken as the basis to uphold a fair and equitable international governance system
• Efforts should be concentrated on bettering people’s well-being to promote social equity and justice
• The new environmental protection targets people set need to be ambitious on the one hand and pragmatic and balanced on the other
• We should make efforts to let the green transition drive global sustainable development
• Green international cooperation needs to be stepped up and the fruits of green development should be shared among all countries
• We should secure win-win results in economic growth, environmental protection
• Developing countries need support in recovering economy, protecting environment

China’s actions and plans

• China will invest 1.5 billion yuan (about $233 million) to establish the Kunming Biodiversity Fund. The fund will be used to support developing countries in biodiversity protection. China calls on and welcomes all parties to make contributions to the fund
• The first phase of China’s large wind power and photovoltaic projects in desert areas with an installed capacity of approximately 100 million kilowatts has recently started construction
• To achieve its carbon peak and neutrality targets, China will release implementation plans for peaking carbon dioxide emissions in key areas and sectors, as well as a series of supporting measures
• China will vigorously develop renewable energy
• China is moving faster to establish a protected areas system, with national parks as the mainstay
• With protected land area of 230,000 square kilometers, China’s first batch of national parks is home to nearly 30 percent of key terrestrial wildlife species in the country
• China has started building a system of national botanical gardens in places like Beijing and Guangzhou