China has made marked progress in addressing climate change, with some targets under its 2030 Nationally Determined Contributions — its climate action commitments under the Paris Agreement — already achieved ahead of schedule, Vice-Minister of Ecology and Environment Li Gao said on Oct 21.

Speaking at a news conference held by the State Council Information Office, Li said China has consistently pursued green and low-carbon development, accelerating the green transition across its economy.

In the first half of 2026, China's installed renewable energy capacity reached 2.46 billion kilowatts, accounting for 60.7 percent of its total installed power generation capacity, he said.

By the end of July, installed photovoltaic capacity had surpassed coal-fired power capacity for the first time, making solar power the largest source of installed power generation capacity in China. The country's installed nuclear power capacity, including units in operation and those approved for construction, ranks first in the world, Li said.

China's production and sales of new energy vehicles have ranked first globally for 11 consecutive years. The country has also built the world's largest and most complete clean energy industrial chain, with green and low-carbon industries becoming an important driver of economic growth, he said.

China has also strengthened its legal and regulatory framework for climate action. The Ecological and Environmental Code, adopted this year, includes a dedicated chapter on climate change, marking the first time Chinese law has made specific provisions on the issue, Li said.

China has issued 113 national standards for carbon emission management and will introduce more than 50 additional standards this year, covering carbon accounting, carbon trading and carbon footprints, he said.

Climate change impacts have continued to intensify in recent years, with extreme weather and climate events occurring frequently around the world, Li said.

"This summer, extreme heat waves swept many countries, and extreme disasters caused heavy casualties and property losses. Climate change is evolving from a future risk into a pressing real-world crisis," he said.

China is particularly sensitive to and significantly affected by climate change. Extreme weather events pose serious threats to food production, ecological security, infrastructure, urban operations, and people's lives and health, attracting growing public attention, Li said.

Li will head the Chinese delegation to the 31st UN Climate Change Conference, or COP31, which will be held in Turkiye from Nov 9 to 20.

He said the focus of global climate governance has shifted from negotiating rules to implementing commitments. China supports COP31 in prioritizing implementation and believes the conference should address both the long-standing shortfalls in emissions reduction efforts and financial support from developed countries, as well as the emerging challenge of unilateralism and protectionism undermining collective climate action.

The multilateral process should support all parties, particularly developing countries, and create the conditions they need to implement their nationally determined contributions and advance the goals of the Paris Agreement through concrete action, he said.

Li emphasized that mitigation and adaptation are the two main responses to climate change and that China attaches equal importance to both.

All 31 provincial-level regions have issued climate change adaptation action plans. China is also guiding 39 cities in piloting climate-adaptive urban development, while Shenzhen in Guangdong province, Haikou in Hainan province and Chengdu in Sichuan province are exploring the development of climate-adaptive communities, Li said.

China has also expanded international cooperation on climate change. Under its South-South cooperation initiatives, the country has signed 60 memorandums of understanding on climate change cooperation with 46 developing countries, launched flagship projects and trained more than 10,000 officials and technicians from over 120 developing countries, Li said.

In 2020, China provided Ethiopia with the country's first climate and meteorological monitoring microsatellite and systematically trained Ethiopian technicians. The project enabled Ethiopians to use satellite imagery to observe their country's urban layouts, changes in water bodies, the distribution of fires and other conditions for the first time, Li said.

In 2023, China launched another flagship project that has helped five African countries provide lighting to nearly 20,000 households. The project is expected to benefit 50,000 African households by 2027, he said.

zoushuo@chinadaily.com.cn