Using innovation to fight climate change

Chinese President Xi Jinping addresses the annual high-level general debate of the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York, the United States, Sept 28, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua]

The international community is actively promoting a new governance system to cope with climate change - a challenge to humankind as a whole. China, as one of the most severely climate change-influenced countries, is using scientific and technological innovation as a tool to address the problem, which has given us precious experience to explore a climate-resilient and sustainable development path.

Innovative steps to cope with challenges

As it is the true calling of its economic transition to address climate change challenges, China has taken scientific innovation as the effective measure to transit to a green and sustainable development path by initiating the Scientific & Technological Actions on Climate Change and the 12th Five-Year Plan for Scientific and Technological Development Plan on Climate Change in 2007.

The achievements include three major aspects.

Firstly, breakthroughs in key technologies have been made in major industries to help save energy and reduce emissions. A succession of low-cost energy-saving technologies have been developed to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the construction industry, coal-fired power plants, and cement and chemical industries.

For example, the ultra-super-critical technology is helping power plants save 29.4 million metric tons of coal every year. The low-temperature power generation using waste heat from cement kilns cuts carbon dioxide emissions by 16,000 tons a year; and a new type of process reduces energy consumption in production of electrolytic aluminum by 2 billion kilowatt-hours a year.

Between 2010 and 2014, China managed to reduce the country's energy consumptions per unit of GDP by 13.4 percent and CO2 emissions per unit of GDP by 15.8 percent via scientific advancement.

Secondly, scientific innovation has upgraded industries. China has been developing energy-saving and new-energy industries in full swing. The country's investment into new energy-related industries accounts for 40 percent of the world total.

We have managed to commercialize the 6-megawatt direct-drive permanent magnet wind power generator, while the total installed wind power capacity has reached 28,000 megawatt.