The Saihanba Forest Farm in Chengde City, north China’s Hebei Province, August 2021. 

COP29 – the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change – has accentuated the urgency of jointly addressing climate change, our common global threat, by pushing for a fair and ambitious new climate financing target. It has also brought into the global spotlight China’s progress in green transition and carbon emission reduction and its commitment to international cooperation. 

Having established the world’s largest and most complete new-energy industry chain, China has provided more than RMB 177 billion since 2016 to support other developing countries’ climate response. At home, more than 90 percent of newly constructed buildings in urban areas are green, and the annual production of new-energy vehicles has surpassed 10 million this year, according to National Development and Reform Commission data. 

This issue’s Special Report looks at Chinese policies and actions to deal with climate change as well as individual commitments and perspectives.