Green goals require profound changes

On Oct 27, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment released a 2022 report on China's policy and actions on climate change. China has been actively implementing measures to realize its goals of peaking carbon emissions before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality before 2060. According to the report, the country's carbon emissions per unit of GDP dropped by 3.8 percent in 2021 compared with the previous year, 50.8 percent lower than 2005.

Green, low-carbon development remains a big challenge for China because of its huge population and the primary role coal plays in its fuel structure. The ongoing path toward the "dual-carbon" goals will be a hard struggle that will require great efforts from the whole of the country.

Overall, the top-level design and institutional arrangements for the pursuit of carbon neutrality have been steadily improved. This shows not only the top leadership's resolve to conserve energy and protect the environment, but also points out the path for accelerating the reducing of carbon emissions.

That path also coordinates and strikes a balance between curbing emissions and pursuing high-quality development. The transition to a green and low-carbon development path is essential for high-quality development. Although the transition will be painful, it will also bring strategic development opportunities.

All parties must make their due contributions. Local governments must strictly punish polluters and those who harm the environment, and close some high-emission and high-polluting plants even at the cost of GDP growth.

For individuals, it is necessary to reduce their carbon footprints by pursuing greener lifestyles.

High-quality development means development that is low-carbon and sustainable. That means upgrading industry, optimizing the energy structure, and people adopting greener lifestyles in order to comprehensively reduce carbon emissions.