As we know, March 21st was set by United Nations in 2012 as the World Forest Day in order to raise the awareness of the public to plant trees. It is the right time to launch today’s tree planting program to usher in the 13th World Forest Day. As an island country, Tonga is more vulnerable to the impact of climate change.
The “One Million Trees Initiative” proposed by the Tongan government shows your firm determination to combat climate change as well as commitment to achieve Nationally Determined Contributions of the UN Climate action. The Chinese Embassy is very glad to participate in this Initiative, and we hope to make a little contribution to Tonga’s green and sustainable development.
There was a time when China focused too much on industrial development and did not attach importance to the environment. Trees were cut down, water and air were polluted. We learned the lesson, and in the past decades, China has put huge efforts in environmental protection, especially planting trees.
China’s forest coverage rate has nearly doubled from 12 percent in the 1980s to over 24 percent nowadays, and China has contributed to one fourth of the global afforestation increase since the year 2000.
The idea of “Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets” is widely accepted in China now. We uphold the philosophy of harmony between humanity and nature and pursue a path of sustainable development, so that everyone is able to enjoy a starry sky, lush mountains and fragrant flowers.
As a responsible major developing country, China has over-shot the climate action targets of 2020 ahead of schedule, will make the steepest cuts in the world to the intensity of our carbon emissions, and will complete the process from carbon emissions peaking to carbon neutrality in the shortest span of time, actively contributing our strength to global climate governance.
The climate policies and objectives that China has adopted now are fully consistent with the long-term temperature goal of the Paris Agreement.
China has also tried its best to help developing countries improve their ability to address climate change. We have inked 46 South-South cooperation documents with 39 developing countries in the field of climate change, and trained approximately 2,300 officials and technical personnel for more than 120 developing countries.
Here, I want to share some information about the China-Aid Wind Power Project in Tonga, which is scheduled to start in April and will complete at the end of this year. With an installed capacity of 2.25MW (megawatts), the project will boost Tonga’s renewable energy capacity, help alleviate power shortage while contribute to Tonga’s efforts to combat climate change.
Climate Change is not the only problem we humanity face. While the Ukraine crisis continued unabated, conflict in the Middle East is getting worse. Moreover, Artificial intelligence, transnational crimes, terrorism, natural disasters, among others, are posing a whole new set of challenges.
China proposed the building of a global community of shared future, calls on all countries to communicate and consult with each other, form broad consensus and take concerted actions to address those global challenges, so that we can live a peaceful life on the Earth – our one and only home.
We are doing something small but meaningful, to build a greener and more resilient place not only for Tonga’s future generation, but also to protect our home planet. All countries bear responsibility for the safety of this planet and the future of humanity.
The journey ahead may be a lengthy and arduous one, but as long as we press ahead with perseverance and determination day by day, there will be much to expect. Let’s work together to build an open, inclusive, clean, and beautiful world of lasting peace, universal security and shared prosperity.