Xie Zhenhua, China's special representative on climate change, rebuked Western media for  questioning China's status as a "developing country" during a sideline event at the Conference of the Parties (COP24) to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, being held in Katowice, Poland. 

According to the Paris Agreement, developed countries should continue to take the lead by undertaking absolute economy-wide reduction targets, while developing countries should continue enhancing their specific mitigation efforts. The agreement also reaffirms the obligations of developed countries to support developing countries in building clean, climate-resilient futures. 

Those who say China is a developed country do not understand the realities of its situation, Xie said on Friday during a conference session on public awareness of climate change at the China Pavilion for the COP24. China remains a developing country, as well as being the biggest, he stressed.

He pointed out that China's per capita GDP remained around US$8,800, which ranked it between the 70th to 80th position among 164 countries in the world. 

Despite its remarkable achievements in poverty alleviation, China still has a poverty-stricken population of between 30 to 70 million, he pointed out. Thus, it faces a severe challenge to develop its economy, improve its environment and create more jobs in order to eradicate poverty and enhance people's livelihood. 

At the same time, China has spared no efforts to tackle climate change. By 2020, it is pledged to cut carbon intensity by 40 to 45 percent, compared to the 2005 levels. It has also promised to increase the share of non-fossil fuels in its primary energy consumption to around 15 percent and increase its forest coverage by 1.3 billion cubic meters. 

By the end of 2017, China's carbon intensity had already fallen by 46 percent, meaning that it has achieved its goal three years ahead of schedule, Xie said. Renewable energy already accounts for 13.8 percent of its primary energy consumption and will surely reach the goal of 15 percent by 2020. China's forest coverage has increased by 2.1 billion cubic meters, exceeding the 2020 target well in advance, he added. 

"The realization of these targets has laid a very solid foundation for achieving peak carbon dioxide emissions in 2030, " Xie said. 

According to figures released by the World Bank, China has contributed to over 50 percent of the conserved energy globally since 2005. Renewable energy in China has the largest scale in the world with installed capacity of 0.65 Gigawatts, accounting for 28 percent of the global total. 

Over the last five to six years, China has led the world in investments in renewable resources resulting in the lowering of the cost of photovoltaic and wind power generation, which is a great contribution to the world.

Citing these various statistics and positive developments, Xie declared: "China has embarked on a road pursuing low-carbon development."

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