Climate Change: A Race We Must Win

We face a new era of climate crisis. July 2019 is the hottest month on record, and we are on track for 2015 to 2019 to be the five hottest years in human history. The level of CO2 in the atmosphere is at its highest point in human history; climate-related devastations strike more often than ever, with droughts, hurricanes, heatwaves and landslides regularly attacking our planet, bringing high tolls and casualties, causing huge economic loss to countries and to individuals, particularly affecting the most vulnerable in societies. The latest report of UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific shows that natural disasters in the region are currently responsible for economic losses of up to US$675 billion annually and affecting close to 150 million people.考生如果怕自己錯過考試成績查詢的話，可以 免費預約短信提醒，屆時會以短信的方式提醒大家報名和考試時間。

The clock is ticking. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, we need to collectively ensure that global temperature rise does not go beyond 1.5 degrees. This means we must reduce emissions by 45 percent by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Such goals might seem too ambitious, but climate change is not a standalone issue that can be ignored given the profound implications it has for all countries and all peoples, including the young generation who will be living with the ever-increasing consequences of global warmings.

Faced with this reality, it is impossible to ignore that human development can only flourish if the natural world flourishes. This is the premise of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals that have become more urgent looking forward to the next decade. How can we as the global community work together as one?

To boost ambition, reinforce strong political will and encourage concrete actions to implement the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres will host the 2019 Climate Action Summit on 23 September during the UN General Assembly. The Summit will bring together governments, the private sector, civil society, local authorities and other international organizations to develop ambitious solutions in six areas: a global transition to renewable energy; sustainable and resilient infrastructures and cities; sustainable agriculture and management of forests and oceans; resilience and adaptation to climate impacts; and alignment of public and private finance with a ‘net zero’ economy. The message is clear: we need concrete, realistic plans to enhance countries’ nationally determined contributions by 2020, in line with reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 45 per cent over the next decade, and to achieve ‘net zero’ emissions by 2050.

As the second largest economy in the world, China has played a critical part in committing to the Paris Agreement and its leadership and commitment is crucial in achieving the goals. The country has made remarkable progress in developing its green economy, with more than US$125 billion dollars’ investment in renewable energy in 2017. New renewable energy jobs in China now outnumber those created in the oil and gas industries. Under the 13th Five-Year Plan, China has already exceeded full three per cent of its target, to reduce energy intensity by 15 percent. The country is also the global leader in the adoption of electric buses, with an estimation of 18% of China’s total bus fleet being electrified according to research from Bloomberg New Energy Finance. This demonstrates a significant increase in the importance of non-fossil fuel from previous five-year plan targets. The benefits China has reaped from fostering its renewable energy sector and the green economy also offer a prime counter-example to the mistaken belief that economic vitality and growth is incompatible with efforts to combat climate change.

As the global challenge that does not respect national borders, climate change is an issue that requires solutions to be coordinated at the international level, with demand for all developed countries taking up greater responsibilities, and for developing countries moving toward low-carbon economy. In the meantime, as the world’s most populous country and one of the largest carbon emitters, China can play an even more vital role in tackling global climate change by maximizing its enormous potential for emission reduction and accelerating the current positive.

The UN is committed to working with the government of China, the private sector, NGOs, youth and other key stakeholders to support climate change reduction efforts in China, to raise awareness and build the next generation of climate leaders, as well as China’s growing support to other developing countries. Under initiatives such as the Belt and Road Initiative, UN and China can work closely together to make the best use of the investment in infrastructure to promote the transition from fossil fuel-intensive economy to green and low-carbon economy in developing countries and ensure the initiatives are in line with sustainable development goals. South-South Cooperation can also facilitate the exchanges of climate solutions – bringing China’s successful practices to developing world and customize the methodology to best serve the local context and needs. Considering the scale of China’s commitments, the potential impact these global engagements will have is unparalleled. Therefore, the UN is ready to continue its partnership with China to ensure that an agenda of environmental sustainability, of climate change mitigation and resilience is placed first and foremost at the head of China’s global development initiatives and investments.

Climate change is running faster than we are and we need to have a much more ambitious approach in what we do in order to defeat climate change – as this is a race that we can and must win.

氣候變化：一場我們必須打贏的比賽

我們面臨著氣候危機的新時代。2019年7月是有記錄以來最熱的一個月，2015年至2019年有望成為人類歷史上最熱的5年。大氣中的二氧化碳含量達到了人類歷史上的最高點。與氣候變化有關的自然災害比以往任何時候都更加頻繁，干旱、颶風、熱浪和山體滑坡的頻發造成了大范圍人員傷亡，給許多國家和人民造成了巨大的經濟損失，尤其是社會中最脆弱的群體受影響最為嚴重。聯合國亞太經濟社會委員會最新報告顯示，該地區自然災害造成的經濟損失高達每年6750億美元，影響近1.5億人。

時間一分一秒地過去。政府間氣候變化專門委員會(Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change)的報告表明，我們需要共同確保全球氣溫上升不超過1.5攝氏度。這意味著我們必須在2030年前減少45%的排放量，并在2050年前實現碳中和。這些目標似乎過于雄心勃勃，但考慮到氣候變化對所有國家和人民所產生的深遠影響，全球變暖日益嚴重所產生的后果年輕一代將首當其沖，我們絕不能將氣候變化孤立開來，不能小覷其可能產生的后果和影響。

面對氣候變化的現實，我們需要清醒地認識到，人類的發展只有在自然界繁榮的情況下才能蓬勃發展。這是聯合國可持續發展目標的前提，展望未來十年，這些目標變得更加緊迫。我們該如何作為一個國際社會共同努力?

聯合國秘書長安東尼奧·古特雷斯將于9月23日在聯合國大會期間主持2019年氣候行動峰會，以提振雄心，增強政治意愿，鼓勵落實《巴黎氣候變化協定》的具體行動。首腦會議將匯集各國政府、私營部門、民間社會、地方當局和其他國際組織，在六個領域制定雄心勃勃的解決辦法：全球范圍內向可再生能源過渡;可持續和適應力強的基礎設施和城市;可持續農業和森林及海洋管理;對氣候影響的恢復力和適應能力;公共和私人金融向“凈零”經濟看齊。峰會要傳遞的信息很明確：我們需要具體、現實的計劃，到2020年提高各國的自主貢獻，在未來10年將溫室氣體排放量減少45%，到2050年實現“凈零”排放。

作為世界第二大經濟體，中國在履行《巴黎協定》方面發揮了重要作用，中國的領導和承諾對實現《巴黎協定》的目標至關重要。中國綠色經濟發展取得了顯著進展，2017年可再生能源投資超過1250億美元。目前，中國可再生能源新增就業人數已超過石油和天然氣行業。在十三五計劃實施期間，中國已經超額完成目標的3%，降低能源強度15%。中國還是全球率先使用電動公交車的國家，根據彭博新能源財經研究估計，18%中國公交車汽車實現電氣化。這表明，與之前的五年計劃目標相比，非化石燃料的重要性顯著提高。中國從發展可再生能源產業和綠色經濟中獲益的事實也為有些人錯誤地認為經濟的活力和增長與應對氣候變化不可兼得提供了一個主要的反例。

全球性挑戰向來不受國境線的限制，氣候變化這一全球性議題需要在國際層面協調解決方案，要求所有發達國家承擔更大的責任，發展中國家向低碳經濟邁進。作為世界上人口最多的國家和最大的碳排放國之一，中國可以在應對全球氣候變化方面發揮更重要的作用，最大限度地發揮其巨大的減排潛力，進一步加快進度。

聯合國致力于與中國政府、私營部門、非政府組織、青年和其他主要利益攸關方一道，支持中國減少氣候變化的努力，提高認識，培養下一代氣候領導人，并不斷加大對其他發展中國家的支持力度。在各項倡議的支持下，例如一帶一路倡議，聯合國和中國可以緊密合作，充分利用基礎設施投資，促進發展中國家從化石燃料密集型的經濟向綠色和低碳經濟的過渡，確保項目符合可持續發展目標。南南合作也可以促進氣候解決方案的交流，將中國的成功經驗推廣到發展中國家，并根據當地的實際情況和需求，因地制宜地調整方法論。考慮到中國承諾的規模，這些全球合作的潛在影響將是巨大的。因此，聯合國愿繼續與中國保持伙伴關系，確保將環境可持續性、減緩氣候變化和提高適應能力置于中國全球發展倡議和投資的首位。

如果將氣候行動比作一場比賽，那么氣候變化現在的速度比我們快，我們需要更大的決心來應對這一挑戰，因為這是一場我們能夠而且必須獲勝的比賽。

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