China unveils new, ambitious climate goals

Li arrived in France on Monday after wrapping up a trip to Belgium, where China and the European Union (EU) issued a joint statement to enhance cooperation in the uphill battle against global climate change.

In its INDC, China reiterated its stance that climate talks should follow the principles of common but differentiated responsibilities, equity and respective capabilities.

It called on developed countries to "undertake ambitious economy-wide absolute quantified emission reduction targets by 2030" in accordance with their historical responsibilities.

Moreover, the Paris agreement should set quantified targets and a roadmap for developed countries' financial support to developing countries in the fight against climate change, according to the document.

It said the scale of financing should increase yearly starting from 100 billion U.S. dollars per year from 2020 and that the fund should primarily come from public finance.

China has reached out to other developing countries to help them cope with climate change. Since 2011, China has accumulatively invested around 44 million U.S. dollars in South-South cooperation and provided assistance to other developing countries through low-carbon products, training and capacity building.

As a developing country with a population of more than 1.3 billion, China is among those countries that are most severely affected by the adverse impacts of climate change, according to China's INDC.

Apart from the emission target, China also lays out plans to expand the share of non-fossil fuels in its primary energy consumption to around 20 percent by 2030 from the 11.2-percent ratio in 2014, and increase the forest stock volume by 4.5 billion cubic meters from the 2005 level.

China intends to achieve the peaking of carbon dioxide emissions around 2030 and will make best efforts to peak early, the INDC said, reiterating a goal set in a joint statement between China and the United States -- also a big carbon emitter -- in November 2014.

According to the statement, the United States has set a target of reducing its emissions by 26 to 28 percent from its 2005 level by 2025.