China will work with the international community to turn the challenge of climate change into opportunities, a Chinese envoy to the UN said Thursday.
Liu Jieyi, China's permanent representative to the UN, made the remarks at a General Assembly high-level action event aimed at invigorating political momentum on climate change.
"We will work together with the rest of the international community to implement the Paris Agreement, turn the challenge of climate change into an opportunity of transition to green and low-carbon development so as to realize sustainable development," he said.
The Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted in 2015 "marked a milestone" in our journey towards the protection of mankind's common home and the establishment of a community of shared future, and created a roadmap for realizing that goal, Liu said.
"It was extraordinary that the whole process of the adoption, signing, ratification and coming into force of the Paris Agreement was completed within one year, which demonstrated the fact that green and low-carbon development has become the general trend of today's world," said the ambassador.
In his keynote address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in January, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that the Paris Agreement is a hard-won achievement which is in keeping with the underlying trend of global development.
"All signatories should stick to it instead of walking away from it as this is a responsibility we must assume for future generations," Xi said.
"This is a powerful signal from the Chinese leader to the international community that China will fully and thoroughly implement the Paris Agreement and fulfill its international obligations. We will honor our commitment and take action to produce results," said Liu.
Liu urged the international community to stay focused on development, and promote cooperation to achieve win-for-all results.
"The fundamental way to respond to climate change at the global level lies in cooperation to achieve win-for-all results," he said.
"In the follow-up negotiations for the implementation of the Paris Agreement, there is a need to create a constructive atmosphere featuring mutual understanding, mutual appreciation, mutual learning and mutual promotion with a view to facilitating the sharing of best practices and pragmatic cooperation," the ambassador said.
Liu told that meeting that the vision of global green and low-carbon development contained in the Paris Agreement corresponds with China's strategic choice of building an ecological civilization.
"Whatever the vicissitudes of the international situation, China will remain committed to its development concepts of innovation, coordination, green, openness and sharing and actively respond to climate change," he said.
