UNEP chief lauds China's effort to combat climate change

The head of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) on Friday lauded China's role in fighting climate change, calling it a positive actor in a global community to avert such threat.
In an exclusive interview with Xinhua before leaving for New York to attend the 2014 UN Climate Summit, UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner said China has made long-time support for the campaign against global warming.
"China is one of the countries that has for many years recognized that the science that provides us with an understanding of what will be the consequence of global warming is not contested, " he said.
Through China's meteorological department, many researchers and scientific reports are looking at the impact of global warming on Chinese people, industry, water resources and its economy, Steiner noted, adding that it has been a very active participant and contributor to the international negotiation process.
He lauded China for the acts in reducing air pollution, investing in public transport systems and raising green bonds in order to "expand and further the production investments in renewable energy and infrastructure in China and many other countries."
The 2014 Climate Summit, which is organized by UN Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon, will take place in New York on September 23 with more than 120 state leaders to come and share commitments and announcements about anti-global warming. It is also seen as the preparation for the negotiations towards a new climate agreement in 2015 in Paris.
"The idea is to demonstrate to the world that climate change is not only a challenge, but also an opportunity in terms of energy security and many other aspects that are crucial for development," Steiner said.
He acknowledged that every country comes with very strong national perspectives and interests.
"Acting on climate change is not a constraint on development, it is actually reducing the risks involved in future development, and only then will countries from a national interest perspective will see the values of such a new agreement being ratified," he said.