CHINESE State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi called upon all parties to honor their commitments and make concrete actions in tackling climate change at a trilateral meeting between China, France and the United Nations (U.N.) in Osaka, Japan, on Saturday.

The meeting, held on the sidelines of a summit of the Group of 20 major economies, was chaired by Wang and attended by French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Referring to the progress China has made in reducing carbon emissions, Wang reiterated the country’s commitment to addressing climate change.

In 2018, China cut its carbon emissions per unit of GDP by about 45.8 percent compared to the 2005 level, reaching its target two years in advance.

After establishing a nationwide carbon emissions trading system in December 2017, China saw its share of nonfossil fuels in primary energy consumption reach 14.3 percent in 2018, closing in on the target of 15 percent by 2020.

At the meeting, the Chinese official emphasized that tackling climate change requires both enthusiasm and perseverance, while faith, action, cooperation and adherence to principles are also indispensable in the process.

Wang said the world will not stop pushing forward even though a certain country has withdrawn from the push to tackle the issue. “Climate change is a global challenge, and we have no other option but cooperation,” he said, urging developed countries to fulfill their pledges of mobilizing US$100 billion a year by 2020 to help strengthen the capabilities of developing countries to deal with the issue.

Hailing the France-China cooperation on climate change, Le Drian said France stands ready to make joint efforts with China to push the international community to implement the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

For his part, Guterres spoke highly of China’s role in tackling climate change, voicing his willingness to work with China and France to encourage the countries concerned to take action.

(Xinhua)