Protect the Earth for Sustainable Development

Protect the Earth for Sustainable Development*

October 12, 2021

“All beings flourish when they live in harmony and receive nourishment from nature.” Biodiversity fills the earth with vigor and vitality, and lays the foundation for human survival and development. Protecting biodiversity helps protect the earth, our common homeland, and contributes to humanity’s sustainable development.

The Kunming conference, on the theme of “Ecological Civilization: Building a Shared Future for All Life on Earth”, is of great significance. It will work for the conclusion of the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, and identify targets and pathways for global biodiversity protection in the future. In this context, the international community must increase cooperation, build consensus, and pool strength to build a community of all life on earth.

Humanity and nature need to coexist in harmony. When we take care to protect nature, nature rewards us generously; when we exploit nature ruthlessly, it punishes us without mercy. We need to have a deep reverence for nature, respect nature’s needs, follow nature’s laws, and protect nature, so as to build a homeland where humanity and nature coexist in harmony.

Clear waters and green mountains are invaluable assets. A sound eco-environment is not just a natural asset, but also an economic asset, and has a critical impact on the potential and sustainability of economic and social development. We need to speed up efforts to foster a green approach to development and secure both economic growth and environmental protection, so as to build a homeland of coordinated progress in the economy and the environment.

The Covid-19 pandemic has cast a shadow over global development and compounded challenges to the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Faced with the dual tasks of economic recovery and eco-environmental protection, developing countries need all the more help and support. We need to strengthen solidarity to overcome difficulties and let people across countries benefit in a broadly inclusive and fair way from development outcomes and a sound eco-environment, so as to build a homeland of common development of all countries.

We are living in an era fraught with dangers and yet brimming with hopes. As long as we press ahead and persevere, a bright future beckons. For the sake of our common future, we need to join hands and start a new journey of high-quality development for humanity.

First, it is important to harmonize the relationship between humanity and nature through stronger eco-environmental protection. We need to solve the problems brought by industrial civilization, keep human activities within the carrying capacity of the eco-environment, and carry out holistic conservation and systematic governance of mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes, grasslands and deserts.

Second, it is important to promote global sustainable development by adopting a green approach to growth. We need to develop a green, low-carbon and circular economy, translate eco-environmental strengths into development strengths, and bring out the enormous benefits that clear waters and green mountains can offer. We also need to step up international cooperation and share the fruits of green development among all countries.

Third, it is important to promote social equity and justice with a focus on improving the people’s wellbeing. We need to keep in mind the people’s aspirations for a better life, pursue win-win results in environmental protection, economic development, job creation, poverty elimination and other endeavors, and increase the sense of gain, fulfillment and security of all people in all countries.

Fourth, it is important to uphold a fair and equitable international governance system based on international law. We need to practice true multilateralism, and respect and comply with international rules, which are not to be exploited or discarded at one’s convenience. The new targets of environmental protection we set must be ambitious on the one hand and pragmatic and balanced on the other, so as to make the global environmental governance system fairer and more equitable.

China has made remarkable progress in ecological conservation and environmental protection. The recent northward travel and return of a herd of elephants in Yunnan Province in southwest China is a vivid example of our endeavor and success in protecting wild animals. China will continue to advance eco-environmental protection, stay committed to the philosophy of innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development, and build a beautiful China.

On this occasion, I wish to announce a new initiative from China – to establish a Kunming Biodiversity Fund in support of biodiversity protection in developing countries. And we will take the lead by contributing RMB1.5 billion. China also welcomes and calls for contributions from other parties to the fund.

To strengthen its biodiversity protection, China is making rapid progress in establishing a nature reserve system mainly consisting of national parks. Over time, areas of the greatest importance to the natural ecosystems, with the most unique natural landscapes, with the most valuable natural heritage, and with the greatest biodiversity will be included in the national parks system.

China has officially designated its first group of national parks. They include the Three-River-Source National Park, the Giant Panda National Park, the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park, the National Park of Hainan Tropical Rainforest, and the Wuyishan National Park. The land area under protection extends to 230,000 square kilometers, and these parks are home to nearly 30 percent of the key terrestrial wildlife species found in China. In the meantime, acting on the principle of balancing in-situ and ex-situ conservation, China has started building a system of national botanical gardens in places such as Beijing and Guangzhou.

To achieve peak carbon dioxide emissions and carbon neutrality, China will release action plans for peak carbon emissions in key areas and sectors as well as a series of support measures, and will put in place a “1+N” policy framework for achieving its carbon goals. China will continue to readjust its industrial structure and energy mix, vigorously develop renewable energy, and make faster progress in planning and developing large wind power and photovoltaic bases in sandy areas, rocky areas and deserts. We are now making smooth progress on construction of the first phase of projects with an installed capacity of approximately 100,000 megawatts.

If we humans do not fail nature, nature will not fail us. Eco-environmental protection represents the optimal path for human civilization. Let us come together to protect our ecosystems and the environment, and shoulder our responsibility for future generations. Let us make a joint effort to build a community of all life on earth, and a clean and beautiful world for us all.

* Main part of the keynote speech at the leaders’ summit of the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity.

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