尊敬的王校长，柳教授，周院长，以及各位来宾

Good morning.

I’m delighted to speak at the 2024 Tsinghua Global Climate Communication Forum to discuss the importance of the low-carbon transition and China’s vital role.

The world is dangerously off track in meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to end poverty and protect our planet by 2030. Critical environmental targets under SDG 13 – Climate Action – are even regressing. Meanwhile, increasingly frequent climate disasters are causing devastating socio-economic effects, washing out hard-earned development gains in China and globally.

To avoid the worst effects of climate change and keep global warming within the Paris Agreement’s 1.5 degrees safe limit, global emissions must peak by next year and fall 43% by 2030. Urgent and collective action is needed from all countries, particularly the largest emitters.

China, accounting for 30 percent of global emissions, has a crucial role in the low carbon transition.

It now leads in decarbonizing its energy systems and economies, actively shifting from fossil fuels to renewable energy. China has repeatedly broken wind and solar installation records in recent years. In August, it met its target of reaching 1,200 GW of wind and solar installed capacity, six years ahead of schedule.[1]

With vast resources and extensive experience, China can advance the clean energy shift in several ways:

First, China can accelerate its domestic green transition by further optimizing its power system to ensure more effective, efficient use of its vast renewable energy capacity.

While renewables have surged to more than half China’s installed power generation capacity, they currently contribute to only a third of actual electricity output.[2] This discrepancy highlights bottlenecks in integrating renewable energy sources into the grid. Doing so requires not only more investments in grid infrastructure and energy storage, but also further reforms in China’s power market to provide the flexibility needed for sufficient cross-region transmissions.

Secondly, a truly green energy transition also calls for policymakers to consider the fundamental link between climate mitigation and biodiversity conservation, as well as their social impact.

Biodiversity and climate change are closely connected and should be tackled together. Policymakers must assess and address possible trade-offs between the two, so progress on one, doesn’t come at the cost of the other. For example, large-scale solar and wind projects can disturb natural habitats, fragment ecosystems and disrupt migratory routes for wildlife. So, it’s essential to ensure that development of these renewable energy projects follows proper environmental safeguards and minimizes these adverse impacts on biodiversity.

We must also recognize that climate action is not only about reducing emissions. It is also essential that no one is left behind in a greener future. This means supporting and protecting those negatively affected, while ensuring new green job opportunities are accessible to everyone. Social protection mechanisms are needed, including retraining, retooling and compensating affected workers, to avoid worsening inequality. This will ensure an inclusive and equitable transition that retains public support and is more likely to succeed in the long-term.