Ambassador of Denmark leads bike trip to call for reduced carbon emissions

Ambassador of Denmark to China Thomas Østrup Møller leads a bike ride in Beijing Oct. 21. (Photo/Royal Danish Embassy)

The newly appointed Ambassador of Denmark to China Thomas Østrup Møller led a group of guests on a bike ride from the Embassy of the Kingdom of Denmark to the newly opened Liangma Riverfront Wednesday in Beijing, in a bid to promote environment-friendly commuting.

“Biking and walking can lower carbon emissions and air pollution. Eco-friendly commuting creates better cities, improving the health of our citizens and reducing the long-term health costs for society,” said the ambassador.

Commenting on President Xi’s announcement on September 22that China aims to have CO2 emissions peak before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060, the ambassador called the statement “courageous, bold and historical.” He added, “China and Denmark have a close partnership on climate change to translate our joint vision into concrete actions. Denmark has committed to reducing Green House Gas emissions by 70% by the year 2030. Those are two very strong comparable visions!”

“When President Xi puts out and sets out this direction, I’m sure this will also be part of development in China for the years to come,” he told People’s Daily Online. “We are looking forward to the next five-year plan. We will have a new vision of how to develop China.”

The guests included Christina Anderskov, Sector Counsellor for Sustainable Urban Development; Jingjing Ma, General Manager of Nordiq Group; Lin Min, Corporate Vice President of Novo Nordisk ‘Cities Changing Diabetes’; and Dr. Su Yi, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture.