Concerning climate change issues, Chinese NGOs should raise their own capacity to participate in low-carbon development and make their voices heard, said Yue Yanghua, vice secretary-general of the China NGO Network for International Exchange, on Dec. 2 at the Paris Climate Conference (COP 21).

The role played by NGOs should not be neglected as Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed, saying the "Paris Pact should, in its institutional arrangement, promote all countries to work together. Apart from governments, it should also encourage the business sector, and NGOs, among other social resources, to participate in the international cooperation."

Climate change and environmental protection are the fastest-growing sectors of China's NGOs, said Yue, noting that more than 7,000 registered NGOs in China are active in climate, ecology, environment, and meteorology.

In emissions reduction, a Chinese NGO launched the "26 Degree Celsius" campaign during the summers of 2004 and 2005, encouraging people to turn up the set temperature on their air conditioners. The campaign also included a "Car-Free Day" in 2005 and "20% Action" in 2007 to urge 20 percent energy saving in everyone's life. Similarly, in terms of adaptation capabilities, an NGO gave generous aid to underprivileged groups due to extreme weather in 2008.

Chinese climate-minded NGOs started to appear on the international stage in 2009 at the Copenhagen Climate Conference (COP 15). "Since then, we have been attending each year's climate conference and Chinese NGOs have been active in promoting ideas and facilitating exchange," said Yue.

She added that Chinese NGOs have consistently made their own opinions and solutions to current affairs known, which is major progress.

Another form of progress, more and more people of the younger generation have started to pay attention to climate change and have chosen to pursue careers along these lines, said Yue.

The original article was written in Chinese by Wang Fang.

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