Premier Li Keqiang has unveiled China's climate change plan ahead of the United Nation's (UN) Climate Change Conference in Paris later in the year. Li, who is in France as part of his tour of Europe, said on Tuesday that the country would cut its carbon emissions, increase its use of renewable energy and also reduce its energy consumption per gross domestic product.

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On the same day, the U.S. and Brazil also pledged to increase their use of renewable energy sources to about 20 percent by 2030, AP reported. UN officials have revealed that at the moment up to 40 nations have submitted their post-2030 climate change goals. All 28 members of the European Union (EU) as well as 15 other countries are among this group. Experts say collectively these nations are responsible for up to 60 percent of the world's carbon emissions.

Under China's Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC), which was submitted to the UN, the government has pledged to work towards achieving a peak in its carbon dioxide emissions before 2030. A recently research report by the London School of Economics said that China's carbon emissions is likely to peak by 2025.

China's new climate change plan includes cutting the energy consumption per unit gross domestic output by up to 65 percent and increasing the nation's use of non-fossil fuel by up to 20 percent by the year 2030.

Chinese authorities have taken a proactive approach to combat climate change by introducing strict regulations to control the activities of companies in the sectors responsible for the most emissions.  Authorities have also sought to reduce the country's reliance on coal and promote 'green' renewable energy. According to Greenpeace Energydesk, in the first four months of this year, China reduced its dependence on coal by about eight percents and cut its total carbon emissions by up to five percent.

In the first quarter of the year, China's National Energy Administration (NEA) also added up to five gigawatts of solar power to the country's energy grid. This makes China's total solar power supply about 33 gigawatts. Reports indicate that work is ongoing to expand the country's solar energy supply by up to 17 gigawatts before the end of the year.

Chinese authorities have set aside more than $6 trillion for the country's ambitious climate goals, which also includes plans to expand the nation's forest reserves, promoting energy conservation and helping developing countries deal with climate change.

Environmental experts and activists all over the world have welcomed China's climate change targets. UN Secretary Ban Ki Moon described it as "a key step" in reaching an agreement in Paris during the climate conference between 30 Nov. and 11 Dec.

TagsChina Climate Change Plan, china carbon emissions, United Nation's (UN) Climate Change Conference, China Nonfossil Fuel, China Energy Consumption per Unit GDP