I have not posted for a few days because, well, there’s a feeling in the air that we are living in momentous times. Times in which even the global order could become unhinged. From now until the end of the year, and further, every issue, every event, across all categories – not just the political – not just the economic – not just the health situation – and not just anything else – takes on a new significance and, it has to be said, a new heightened danger.

Everything becomes a heavy weight issue, and while the news and other media continue to entertain themselves with lightweight issues – issues that have no bearing on the immediate future of mankind – there are no more lightweight issues. They, at least if the world could demonstrate possession of sound reason to be able to understand this, have now been overshadowed by issues of supreme importance (and I am not talking about such lightweight issues as any election matter nor any other single issue). We are at a crisis point and it will not become clear, I think, where that will lead us in the weeks and months ahead, for some time yet. But lead us it will. Not by anyone’s guidance or plan, but by whatever wave of power – of human or of nature – comes to dominate global activity.

We, you and I, and everyone else for that matter, as individuals, can only stand by and watch that happen as it rolls out and takes on a movement and force of its own. Unstoppable by any power of man.

All that is by way of saying that I have reviewed quite a number of articles on various issues, but have chosen not to share any one of them. Until I came across this, tonight. It is nothing special. Just a story of a nation that as a nation can actually demonstrate possession of sound reason. They have a plan – perhaps singularly so in the family of nations – and they are getting on with it, undeterred by anything that is going on around them – but acutely aware of what those things are.

China’s plan will make no difference of course, because by 2030 and certainly by 2060, the world we now know (the world of man, I emphasise) will have largely passed into history and, perhaps, may even have disappeared entirely. But that is not China’s fault, and if more nations were to demonstrate the same degree of commitment, perhaps a slightly happier outcome than that which I suspect will become our reality, may have been able to be accommodated.

Please read on… (You may prefer to read the original story at: http://en.people.cn/n3/2020/1029/c90000-9774148.html

Commentary: China’s 14th Five-Year Plan crucial to global response to climate change

(Xinhua)    08:16, October 29, 2020

BEIJING, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) — China has vowed to reach CO2 emissions peak before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality ahead of 2060. To realize these goals, outlining measures to achieve the targets will be a significant step in the country’s 14th Five-Year Plan.

Carbon intensity target is expected to be set for the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025) in accordance with the carbon emission targets, and specific plans will be drawn up to tackle climate change, according to the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.

As China has tied its carbon promise to a specific year for combating climate change, some Western critics have questioned its ability to realize the goals while trying to achieve economic growth.

China is a country that keeps its words. Once the five-year plan is finalized, the country — from the central government to local governments — will ensure its implementation. For instance, eight of the nine objectives related to ecological environment defined in the 13th Five-Year Plan have been realized ahead of schedule. The remaining objective which is meant to ensure that 337 cities experience good air quality for more than 84.5 percent of the days by 2020 is expected to be realized as planned.

The COVID-19 pandemic and a global recession have posed formidable challenges to growth prospects, but China will not let uncertainty derail the country’s efforts to push green development and tackle climate change. While seeking quality development, the country will not cross the red line of ecological protection or ease regulations because of concerns over economic and social fallout.

The government has not underestimated the challenges of achieving ecological progress in the long term. To achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, social, economic, energy and technological systems need to adapt and transform. It is important to see the push to go green as a source of growth rather than a drag on the economy. Policymakers will seize the historic opportunities presented by the new round of scientific and technological revolution to promote the transformation and upgrade of economic, energy and industrial structures.

For instance, the Chinese government approved a plan in early October to boost the new energy vehicle industry. China will accelerate the development of national carbon markets, continue low-carbon pilot programs, and launch pilot projects for investment and financing. Its revised environment protection law, considered “the strictest” in history, has ratcheted up the crackdown on environmental violations.

As the world’s largest developing country, China has taken an active part in global environmental governance and is willing to undertake obligations matching its development level. If China were to achieve carbon neutrality before 2060, it would help lower global warming projections by around 0.2 to 0.3 degrees Celsius, said a new study by Climate Action Tracker, a Berlin-based non-profit climate science and policy institute.

China prioritizes ecological progress in every dimension and phase of economic and social development, bringing huge opportunities to foreign companies, including but not limited to the country’s large clean energy projects in which foreign enterprises can invest, and air pollution prevention and control technology and commercial applications.

Humankind can no longer afford to ignore the repeated warnings of nature and go down the beaten path of extracting resources without investing in conservation and pursuing development at the expense of protection. Like the fight against the pandemic, it takes international collaborative efforts to limit global warming. China has made the move to strengthen such efforts toward a greener world in the post-COVID era.

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