China has continued to launch a series of major scientific and technological projects and initiatives, including drones, big data, cloud computing, and the internet of things, in the ecological and environmental field, according to the country's environmental authorities.
The technologies have been effectively applied in the battle against pollution, providing strong support for precise, scientific, and lawful pollution control and the construction of a beautiful China, Wang Zhibin, Director of the Science, Technology, and Finance Department under China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE), said during a monthly press conference on Wednesday.
Wang stated that the ministry has continuously deepened technological reforms in the ecological and environmental sector. This includes the implementation of major actions for scientific and technological innovation in ecological and environmental protection and advancing the key national project for comprehensive environmental governance in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region in northern China, thereby strengthening the strategic, scientific, and technological support for ecological and environmental protection.
Since 2023, the ministry has established three key laboratories, such as the Environmental Sensory Stress and Health Laboratory, three engineering technology centers, including the Internet of Things Technology Research and Application in Wuxi, East China's Jiangsu Province and seven national scientific observation and research stations, such as the Hulunbuir Forest-Grassland Ecotone in North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
Progress has been made in coordinated pollution prevention and control of PM2.5 and O3, ecological and environmental protection and restoration of the Yangtze River, and ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin. This has resulted in over 400 technical schemes and policy recommendations, providing strong support for scientific decision-making and precise implementation in pilot cities.
Wang introduced that as of now, data sets from 25,000 local monitoring stations across the country have been shared online. The ministry has also signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the National Space Administration to deepen the application of satellite remote sensing, with the high-resolution spectral observation satellite being put into use. In collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the ministry issued the "National Ecological Quality Supervision and Monitoring Work Plan (2023-2025)," establishing the first batch of 55 national comprehensive ecological quality monitoring stations, and completing the construction of automatic monitoring systems for sound environmental quality in 36 key cities. A nationwide agricultural non-point source monitoring network covering 175 monitoring areas has been established.
India’s economy will become carbon neutral by the year 2070, the country’s prime minster has announced at the COP26 climate crisis summit in Glasgow. The target date is two decades beyond what scientists say is needed to avert catastrophic climate impacts. India is the last of the world’s major carbon polluters to announce a net-zero target, with China saying it would reach that goal in 2060, and the United States and the European Union aiming for 2050.
China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries. Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change. In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping said his country would aim for its emissions to reach their highest point before 2030 and for carbon neutrality before 2060. His statement has now been confirmed as China's official position ahead of the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. But China has not said exactly how these goals will be achieved.
China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries. Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change. In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping said his country would aim for its emissions to reach their highest point before 2030 and for carbon neutrality before 2060. His statement has now been confirmed as China's official position ahead of the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. But China has not said exactly how these goals will be achieved.
A crucial U.N. conference heard calls on its first day for the world's major economies to keep their promises of financial help to address the climate crisis, while big polluters India and Brazil made new commitments to cut emissions. World leaders, environmental experts and activists all pleaded for decisive action to halt the global warming which threatens the future of the planet at the start of the two-week COP26 summit in the Scottish city of Glasgow on Monday. The task facing negotiators was made even more daunting by the failure of the Group of 20 major industrial nations to agree ambitious new commitments at the weekend.