Circular economy's role in climate action crucial

Xie Zhenhua, China's special envoy for climate change, has stressed the role of circular economy in China's climate actions, saying it's an important choice for sustainable development.

He made the remarks in an event themed on circular economy in the China pavilion, which was held on the sidelines of the COP28 United Nations climate change conference in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.

China has listed promoting circular economy as one of its 10 major actions to realize its climate targets of peaking carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and realizing carbon neutrality before 2060, Xie noted.

The practice in China proves that circular economy can play an important role in tackling the climate crisis, he said.

Quoting data from China Association of Circular Economy, he said the development of circular economy in China in 2022 helped reduce greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to over 3 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide.

"It's contribution is really big," he said.

Xie also highlighted circular economy as an important part in China's climate cooperation with other countries.

In their Sunnylands Statement on Enhancing Cooperation to Address the Climate Crisis, the United States and China decided to operationalize the Working Group on Enhancing Climate Action in the 2020s, one of the focuses of which is about circular economy and resource efficiency, he said.

The statement was made public following a meeting between Xie and his US counterpart John Kerry from Nov 4 to 7.

The European Union and China extended a Memorandum of Understanding on Circular Economy they signed in 2018 for another five years at a EU-China High-Level Policy Dialogue on Circular Economy in September, he said.

Xie said he looks forward to seeing the establishment of an international cooperation platform at COP28 to promote pragmatic cooperation in circular economy development and other sectors.