UN official praises China’s leadership on climate, green development ahead of COP30

China's commitment to global development cooperation, climate action, and green development plays a pivotal role in achieving higher-level sustainability goals, particularly the urgent need to stay below the critical 1.5 degrees Celsius global warming limit, according to UN Under-Secretary-General Jorge Moreira da Silva.

The 1.5.degrees Celsius limit marks a tipping point in the Earth's climate system. Exceeding this threshold would exponentially increase the risk of cascading disasters, such as desertification, ice sheet collapse, and extreme weather events, according to reports.

Against this backdrop, China has pledged to peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. By championing cooperation, sharing, and win-win outcomes, China not only accelerates its own transition but also offers stability and optimism to the global community, a crucial force in the fight against climate change.

In an exclusive interview with China Central Television (CCTV) aired on Friday, Da Silva, who is also the director of the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS), highlighted the gravity of the global climate crisis. He praised China's proactive efforts as vital to addressing the escalating challenges, while warning of the risks of failing to meet the 2030 Agenda. "I think that there is an important contribution that we all must provide in support of the 2030 Agenda. Let's not forget the 2030 Agenda is not an environmental agenda, it is a sustained development agenda, which is about economic, environmental, and social dimensions. We must address this in a moment where we are off track," he said.

He emphasized that, so far, only 17 percent of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) established in 2015 are on track, while about 30 percent of these goals have regressed. "At the same time, the other key pillar of the 2030 Agenda was the climate agreement, the Paris Agreement, and we all agreed, all nations agreed to commit to reduce emissions at home and to partner with other nations to help them reduce emissions in ways that will put us in a pathway to limiting the increase of temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius. But today, if you take all the commitments from member states, we are in a path, not to 1.5, but 2.6 to 2.9 degrees Celsius," said Da Silva. The UN official called for urgent global solidarity ahead of COP30, stressing the critical need to address climate targets and collective action.

"And finally, we are off track on solidarity. Because what the numbers tell us is that developing countries are missing every year four trillion U.S. dollars to implement the SDGs. So we agreed on the SDGs, but developing countries are missing four trillion U.S. dollars every year. We'll get in Belem of Para by the end of the year COP30 on climate. It's the moment where the world must respond: Are we fixing our national targets, and our solidarity to ensure that we will reach 1.5 degrees Celsius? Or are we pursuing in a complacent manner towards 2.9 degrees Celsius? This is the moment of truth. We have to answer to these questions," he said.

Highlighting China's dual approach to domestic and international sustainable progress, da Silva commended its efforts in renewable energy and electric mobility as proof that green development can drive economic growth and global collaboration.

"So I hope that with China's commitment on development cooperation and on climate and on the green agenda, we can all pursue towards the highest ambition. I want to recall that China has made very significant efforts on renewable energy, on electrical mobility. This shows that it is possible to go green and to generate jobs, and economy. China is doing this domestically, but is also doing this in partnership with developing countries," he said.

COP30 is scheduled to take place this November in Brazil's Belem, a city in the heart of the Amazon rain forest. Officials explained that this location was chosen not only to draw attention to vulnerable ecosystems under threat from climate change, but also to highlight the crucial role that nature-based solutions, such as forest restoration, play in climate mitigation.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is a global initiative adopted by United Nations Member States in 2015. It focuses on eradicating poverty, protecting the planet, and ensuring prosperity for all through 17 SDGs.

UN official praises China’s leadership on climate, green development ahead of COP30

A group of experts said they are expecting China's economy to post steady growth in 2026 despite an increasingly uncertain global situation that posts challenges to the country's development.

The experts made the remarks in a recent interview with China Global Television Network in south China's tech hub Shenzhen, Guangdong Province.

An official for Qianhai, a special economic zone that has become a critical growth engine for south China's Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area city cluster, said that like other major economies around the world, China is also facing increasing challenges, but he believes the country will post steady growth in 2026.

"I mean [for] other major economies right now, they [are] kind of also facing a bit of challenges. Geopolitical risks are rising. Trade war [has] not yet completely ended. But having said that, I think [for] China, there is also a domestic-oriented economy. You know that 80 percent -- more than 80 percent -- is still domestic demand. And also we start to see some kind of, particularly in the areas like the new industries, but even in some kind of the broad-based industry, we still see the manufacturing investments keep rising despite the uncertainties, despite all these various kinds of pressures. I expect China's economy still going to remain kind of a stable piece of growth. [The growth rate of] four point five to five percent, I think, is still going to be quite achievable for the next twelve months or so," said Qu Hongbin, chief economist for Qianhai authority.

Greg Smith, chairman at AustCham South China, an institute for promoting Australia-China commercial relationship, said China's resilient partnerships with other countries around the world can help the country navigate through the uncertain global landscape.

"I think that you'd be a very brave person to bet against the Chinese economy. It's been resilient over a long period and it's gone through some fairly strong headwinds and come out with still the flag waving. Taking some of the issues that you're talking about with tariffs and the geopolitics that's in place, there's resilience in the partnership [which] is what all the countries are looking for in their trades. So the stronger relationships that you have, I think that's going to really be the bedrock to making sure that we do hit the 4.5 [growth] rate. I think all the countries around the world are looking for trusted partners to be able to work and trade with," said Smith.

Sunny Tan, chairman at the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC), said he believes the rest of the world wants to be part of China's economic growth.

"I would say that China has a very, very good number -- achievable number. And I can see the big market by itself, the resilience, and also [it] is really providing a certainty in the time of uncertainty. Our country can continue to grow as planned. At the same time we can see very good interest from around the world, who wants to be part of this growth, and be wanting [who wants this growth] to be in China," Tan said.

Qin Youming, founder and CEO of Manifold Tech, a startup based in Shenzhen, said the entrepreneurs still see opportunities in globalization and companies should be quick in adapting themselves to the changing environment to survive.

"For market wise, we still see there are opportunities in globalization even though there are a lot of geopolitical matters going on. But the uniqueness of the Greater Bay Area, I think, is still unmatched, like the talents we can find here, the craftsmanship, the well experienced engineers here, is [are] still unmatched. I think even though there's uncertainty around the world, the business has to grow globally. Anyone who can adapt [themselves to] this quickly can survive," he said.

Experts expect China's economy to continue growing amid uncertainties in global landscape