On September 22, 2020, President Xi Jinping announced at the 75th Session of the U.N. General Assembly that China aims to have carbon dioxide emissions peak before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. It was the first time that China put forward the goal of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, which attracted significant attention from the international community. In the report delivered by Xi to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), he also noted "working actively and prudently toward the goals of reaching peak carbon emissions and carbon neutrality." It was the first time that "dual carbon" goals were included in the report to the CPC National Congress, which is of great significance. Regarding the topic, China News Release recently interviewed Scott Vaughan, international chief advisor of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED).
The national carbon emission trading market starts operation at the Shanghai Environment and Energy Exchange in Shanghai on July 16, 2021. [Photo by Wang Gang/China News Service]
CCICED and China's 'dual carbon' blueprint
"The CCICED was among the first policy think tanks to recommend that China adopt carbon peaking and carbon neutrality targets," Vaughan told China News Release.
Founded in 1992, the CCICED is one of the oldest, most successful and impactful institutions for high-level dialogue and cooperation between China and foreign countries on environment and development. Over the past 30 years, the CCICED has invited high-level experts and scholars from around the world to carry out in-depth research, and, on this basis, given advice to the Chinese government on major issues in the field of environmental development. It has thus made extraordinary contributions to the Chinese sustainable development cause.
"We have drawn together Chinese and international lessons in key enablers of the low-carbon transition, notably the role of green finance in scaling up low-carbon renewable energy, and the role of green technologies in accelerating the green shift to high-quality green development," Vaughan said.