The Climate Change Challenge

After a fortnight of marathon negotiations， envoys from nearly 200 countries have endorsed an agreement on a method to combat global warming at the climate change conference in Paris on December 12. The historic agreement sets out the objective of limiting global temperature increases to a maximum of 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. It also challenges nations to work toward a more ambitious target—a limit of just 1.5 degrees.

However， realizing that objective is far from easy and requires the concerted efforts of the international community. All countries should come up with plans that are tailor-made to their own circumstances in accordance with the Paris agreement.

China submitted its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution（INDC） plan to the United Nations in June. Accordingly， the country intends to peak its carbon dioxide （CO2） emissions before 2030. Another objective is to lower CO2 emissions per unit of gross domestic product （GDP） by 60-65 percent from 2005 levels by 2030. Similarly， countries such as the United States， Germany and France made significant commitments to greenhouse gas reduction and in reaching a final agreement in Paris.

Most notably， China and the United States reached broad consensus on joining forces to combat climate change. They signed the historic China-U.S. Joint Announcement on Climate Change in November 2014 in Beijing， and doubled down on those commitments in Paris， urging others to follow suit. Under the agreement， the worlds top two polluters agreed to curb their greenhouse gas emissions.

The Paris agreement established a post-2020 mechanism for dealing with climate change built on the INDCs and reiterated the principle of the common but differentiated responsibilities set by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. It is a comprehensive， balanced and binding agreement.

Although the agreement wont be formally signed until April 22， 2016， also Earth Day， Chinas efforts to reduce carbon emissions have already begun.

As the largest developing country， Chinas per-capita GDP only accounts for 70 percent of the global GDP average. The country still faces huge pressures concerning development of the economy and improvement of peoples livelihoods. Chinas13th Five-Year Plan （2016-20） delineates the countrys social and economic development objectives and outlines requirements for curbing greenhouse gas emissions and combating climate change for the next five years. In its process of industrialization and urbanization， the nation rightly puts environmental protection and low-carbon development as top priorities.