| Abstract: | While fossil fuels greatly contribute to human society, they pose great challenges to natural resources, the environment, and climate change. Developed countries, like the United States, formulated strategic measures to ensure their sustainable development and leading positions in the world. These measures include new green policies, development of shale gas, revitalization of nuclear power, energy independence, reindustrialization, and new low-carbon development based on a combination of Internet technology and renewable energy. Developing countries are also trying to introduce balanced strategies of poverty alleviation and sustainable development. Globally, industrial civilization is being transformed to ecological civilization and green, low-carbon development is a global trend. Addressing climate change provides new strategic factors to further this development. China should take substantial actions to realize sustainable development in a new road: China is in the critical stage of changing its development mode, so it is vital to choose an appropriate development path. This extensive development comes at the high price of consuming too much resources and scarring the environment. Mitigation and adaptation strategies for addressing climate change can help the transition of development. Based on the analysis of the development data of developed countries, the author introduces the concept of “two-type developed countries” with an understanding that not all developed countries must take the same development mode. He also holds the view that China should achieve modernization in a more energy-saving and more carbon-efficient manner compared with that of two-type developed countries. An analysis of “two competitions” that China is facing shows that changing the developing mode is urgent and China should grasp this opportunity in the next five to ten years, which is a key period for this transition. This paper discusses the low-carbon development goals and the three-step process. Low-carbon development does not necessarily restrict economic development. It, however, can expedite the transition of the development mode and this is a low-carbon and green development path. Transition of the development mode includes implementation of China’s green and low-carbon energy strategies, low-carbon society construction, development of agriculture and forestry, garbage sorting and utilization, innovation of urbanization, etc. Improvement of national infrastructure construction includes water safety, environment and climate monitoring system, intelligent energy web, basic database, etc. Addressing climate change can significantly improve the nation’s basic research level. In summary, it mitigates backward production capability, extensive development, and environmental damage while promoting technological advancement, scientific development, and ecological civilization. |
