China has pledged to establish clear climate targets and ensure their effective implementation, saying predictable commitments are essential to maintaining stability and certainty in global climate governance, as world leaders gather for the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) in Antalya, Türkiye.
Chinese Vice President Han Zheng made the remarks during a meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday, November 10, on the sidelines of COP31, according to China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency, which reported the meeting on Wednesday.
Conveying Chinese President Xi Jinping’s cordial greetings to Guterres, Han said Beijing attaches great importance to addressing climate change and remains committed to contributing to international efforts to tackle the global climate crisis.
He emphasized that China would continue setting clear climate objectives and translating its commitments into concrete action, arguing that consistency in national policies and implementation is necessary to provide greater certainty for international climate cooperation.
Han highlighted China’s energy transition targets, saying Beijing had set goals for non-fossil energy sources to account for 50 percent of electricity generation and electricity to represent 35 percent of final energy consumption by 2030.
The targets reflect China’s stated ambition to expand renewable and other non-fossil energy sources while reducing dependence on fossil fuels in its broader energy system. China has emerged as a major player in the global renewable energy sector, particularly in solar power, wind energy, battery manufacturing and electric vehicles.
However, Han acknowledged that international climate action continues to face significant challenges, particularly for developing countries that lack the financial resources, technological capabilities and institutional capacity required to implement their climate commitments.
He said many developing nations were struggling with funding shortages, technological limitations and insufficient capacity to fulfil their nationally determined contributions (NDCs), which outline individual countries’ climate mitigation and adaptation commitments under the Paris Agreement.
According to Han, these challenges require collective action by the international community rather than leaving developing countries to address them independently.
He called for stronger international cooperation to ensure that financial assistance, technology transfer and capacity-building support reach countries most affected by climate change.
Han also expressed China’s expectation that COP31 would achieve meaningful progress and establish new areas of consensus under Guterres’ leadership. He said the conference should contribute to strengthening international cooperation and advancing the global climate agenda.
Guterres, in response, recognized China’s contribution to the global transition towards renewable energy and efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
He described China as a global leader in renewable energy and said the country had made substantial contributions to reducing global emissions.
The UN chief also discussed the importance of working collectively to secure a strong and credible set of outcomes from COP31, particularly in addressing persistent gaps in climate change mitigation, climate finance and adaptation.
These three areas remain central to international climate negotiations. Mitigation focuses on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, while adaptation involves strengthening communities and infrastructure against the impacts of climate change. Climate finance is intended to provide developing countries with the resources needed to pursue both objectives.
The discussion between Han and Guterres comes as developing nations continue to demand greater financial and technological support from wealthier countries, arguing that the burden of addressing climate change must reflect differences in historical emissions, economic capacity and vulnerability.
For countries across Asia, Africa and the Pacific, climate finance and adaptation have become particularly important as rising temperatures, extreme rainfall, floods, droughts, glacial melting and other climate-related hazards increasingly threaten livelihoods, infrastructure and economic development.
Mountain countries such as Nepal face additional risks from accelerating glacier melt, glacial lake outburst floods, landslides and increasingly unpredictable weather patterns. These challenges have strengthened calls for international climate cooperation that gives greater attention to vulnerable mountain communities and developing economies.
During the meeting, Guterres also thanked Han for China’s continued support for the United Nations and its activities, according to a statement issued by the UN.
China’s participation in COP31 carries significance because of its position as one of the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters and a major producer and exporter of renewable energy technologies. Its domestic energy policies and international climate commitments are therefore closely watched by governments, climate negotiators and environmental organizations.
The meeting also highlighted the continuing importance of cooperation between major economies and the United Nations in advancing the objectives of the Paris Agreement, which seeks to limit global warming and strengthen countries’ capacity to respond to climate-related impacts.
As COP31 negotiations continue in Antalya, the challenge for participating governments will be to translate national commitments into measurable action while addressing disagreements over financing, technology transfer and the responsibilities of developed and developing countries.
Han’s remarks underscored Beijing’s position that clear targets, consistent implementation and international cooperation are necessary to maintain confidence in global climate governance and accelerate collective action against climate change.
