China: $6.6 trillion of investment in climate plan

15/09/2015

     China will use over $ 6.6 trillion to meet the greenhouse gas reduction goals and it will lay out later this month in its strategy for United Nations climate negotiations, the country's lead negotiator for the talks said on 23 June, 2015. Special representative for climate change affairs at China's National Development and Reform Commission, Xie Zhenhua said the objectives China will outline by the end of June will be "quite ambitious."      Therefore, China, the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitter, must reconfigure its coal-dependent energy mix and develop new energy sources, Xie said. "We will need to carry out international cooperation and research and development to reduce the costs of relevant technologies and to innovate so that we can reach our objectives," he told reporters at a State Department briefing.      The United States and China announced on 22 June 2015 they will partner on 2 new carbon-capture, utilization and storage projects to help commercialize the technology. While key details of China's plan are not yet known, it is expected to include targets announced in November, when it reached a key climate change deal with Washington to cap its emissions by 2030 and fill 20% of its energy needs from zero-carbon sources. Earlier June, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang reaffirmed the government's commitment to hit a carbon emissions peak by "around 2030." The country's coal consumption decreased for the first time in years in 2014, however, leading some to speculate that its emissions could reach their peak sooner.   Vũ Nhung