(COP28) Interview: China’s achievements in green transformation phenomenal, says int’l business organization leader

By Xinhua writer Tai Beiping

DUBAI, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) — China has made significant progress in green transformation and remarkable achievements in the renewable energy sector, the leader of an international business organization has said. “China’s achievement has been phenomenal. A lot of people outside of China perhaps don’t realize the scale of the shift that is taking place,” Dominic Waughray, executive vice president of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, told Xinhua in a recent interview here. Delegates from worldwide gathered here over the past two weeks for COP28 climate talks, with a focus on the first-ever Global Stocktake of the Paris Agreement, a comprehensive review of the gap between what has been done and what the world needs to do to cope with climate change. “There is a gap, there is quite a big gap,” said Waughray. Waughray noted that some countries, viewing China as an exemplar, are outperforming others. “China, for example, is doing better than others in some places, there’s quite a gap,” said the deputy leader of the global CEO-led organization, which boasts more than 200 leading companies and partners. China has made rapid progress in addressing climate change with an emphasis on a green transformation. In 2022, the country’s emission intensity of carbon dioxide decreased by more than 51 percent from 2005, while the installed capacity of non-fossil energy surged to 50.9 percent. Furthermore, as a major supplier of wind and solar power equipment and power batteries, China has effectively lowered the cost of renewable energy and helped other countries obtain clean, reliable, and more affordable energy. China is driving the renewable energy and the electric vehicle revolution that the world needs, said Waughray, highlighting the role of Chinese businesses in investment, innovation, new technology, and products. This, he noted, can help the world “fill that gap.” “That’s a very, very encouraging sign given the scale of innovation investment that is taking place in China and I think it offers a lot of economic optimism,” he said. China can make such progress as the country has “a very clear set of goals and targets every five years,” which he sees as an effective strategic plan for the economy. Waughray also mentioned the strength and depth of research on green technologies in China’s universities and research institutes. “I’ve just been thrilled to come back to Beijing and other parts of China and see how many young people are very excited about working in green technology,” he said. “So China is very well-placed not just right now but also for the next 20 or 30 years.” Like many delegates at the UN climate conference, Waughray called for urgent actions to address climate change. “We all experience the impact of climate change. Whether in China, Europe, the United States, sub-Sahara Africa, or Australia, it’s not just something that affects rich countries or poor countries, it affects us all,” he said. Enditem