This is largely caused by a reduction in industrial production and energy consumption, and changes in transportation. However, past experience shows us that emissions reductions caused by an economic slowdown are likely to be temporary and may rebound to exceed previous levels. After the global financial crisis of 2008, global CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion and cement production grew 5.9 percent in 2010, more than offsetting the 1.4 percent decrease in 2009 from the crisis. To truly advance a more sustainable development path, countries need to undergo significant and lasting structural transformation.
As governments look to create jobs and promote economic growth in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, they need to make a choice in designing economic stimulus programs. They can choose more polluting, inefficient, high-carbon and unsustainable development, or they can accelerate the inevitable shift to low-carbon and increasingly affordable energy, and transport systems that will bring long-term economic and social benefits. Obviously the latter seems to be the wiser choice.
Governments and international financial institutions are mobilizing an unprecedented level of funding — already over US $10 trillion — to recover from the COVID-19 crisis. What happens during the next year or so will have a major impact on whether the world will be able to overcome the massive and urgent sustainability issues we face. We hope that governments will choose not to return to the same old way of doing business but will choose to “build back better.”
Important Lessons to Learn
These are still early days in terms of developing an understanding of the overall impact of the pandemic and the economic knock-on effect. Here are four lessons that the international community can draw from the outbreak:
Denne historien er fra September 2020-utgaven av China Today (English).
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Denne historien er fra September 2020-utgaven av China Today (English).
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A City with Vision for the Future
LOCATED on the edge of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, at one of the farthest points in China from the sea, stands a city that began to embrace its great economic takeoff just 10 years ago.
Setting out on the Great Rejuvenation
THE centenary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) was marked by a grand gathering held on July 1 at Beijing’s Tian’anmen Square.
A Similar History Has United Us
— Interview with Carlos Miguel Pereira, Ambassador of Cuba to China
The CPC's 100 Years of “Routine Miracles”
AT a grand ceremony commemorating the centenary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC) at Beijing’s Tian’anmen Square on July 1, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, solemnly declared the completion of building China into a moderately prosperous society in all respects, the country’s first centenary goal.
An Open Xinjiang with Multi-Ethnic Beliefs
SINCE ancient times, Xinjiang has been a region where ethnic groups live together, religious beliefs are diversified, and many cultures coexist. Primitive religion and Shamanism were initially prevalent in the region.
Xinjiang in My Eyes
ON May 24, 2021, I boarded a flight to Urumqi from Beijing with a group of Chinese and foreign journalists to learn more about Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, a vast territory that is home to many ethnic groups and diverse cultures. The visit has left me with lasting memories and a deeper understanding of the people and the region as a whole.
Stability and Development Are the Strongest Evidences of Human Rights
OVER the past months hostile elements in certain Western countries have trumped-up charges against China concerning human rights in Xinjiang, spreading lies about “forced labor,” “genocide,” and “religious oppression” in the region.
BRI Nexus Promoting Multilateralism in a Post-Pandemic World
BORN of centuries-long interactions between China and other civilizations along the ancient Silk Road, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) appears as the quintessential manifestation of multilateralism on the world stage since the Second World War which was, sad to say, one of quite a different kind.
Tourism Boosts Rural Revitalization in Ili
THEY say you never know how big China is until you come to Xinjiang, and never know how beautiful Xinjiang is until you come to Ili.
Xinjiang's Cotton Industry Gets Smart
LOCATED in the northwest of China, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region boasts long hours of sunshine and ample water for irrigation — making the region geographically ideal for growing cotton. Cotton grown in Xinjiang, which has good coloration and long fiber, is favored in both domestic and foreign markets.
