The Chinese government constantly sets great store by the issue of climate change and has included addressing climate change into its mid- and long-term planning for economic and social development as a major issue concerning its overall economic and social development. In 2006, China set forth the compulsive goal of reducing its per-unit GDP energy consumption in 2010 by 20% from that of 2005. In 2007, China became the first developing country to formulate and implement a national program to address climate change. In 2009, China put forward the goal of action to reduce the per-unit GDP greenhouse gas emission in 2020 by 40-45% as compared to that of 2005.
To accomplish the above goals, China adopted a range of major policy measures to mitigate and adapt to climate change during the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-2010) period, and has achieved remarkable results. The Outline of the 12th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development released in 2011 established the policy orientation of promoting green and low-carbon development, and expressly set out the objectives and tasks of addressing climate change for the next five years. China has been playing a constructive role in international negotiations on climate change, actively pushing forward the negotiation process, thereby making a significant contribution to addressing global climate change.
This white paper, China’s Policies and Actions for Addressing Climate Change (2011), is issued to enable the international community to fully understand China’s policies and actions for addressing climate change, and the positive results achieved in this regard during the 11th Five-Year Plan period, as well as China’s overall arrangements to address climate change and its related negotiating position during the 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-2015).