Paddy fields in Dinghai. [Photo/WeChat account: zjzsrbs]

United Nations Settlements Programme official Bruno Dercon praised the efforts made by Dinghai district of Zhoushan, East China's Zhejiang province in trying to achieve its net-zero carbon emissions goal at the launch ceremony for the Rural Revitalization in Dinghai Under the Net-Zero Carbon Emissions Goal report in Dinghai on Sept 24.

"Our cooperation with Dinghai is very important and we would share the experiences and good examples in the district to the world," he said.

Dercon also praised the achievements made by the district in the construction of villages with net-zero carbon emissions.

Net-zero carbon emissions, also called carbon neutrality, means having a balance between emitting carbon and absorbing carbon from the atmosphere by reducing carbon emissions, restructuring industries, as well as afforesting.

"As UN-Habitat's first rural revitalization project with the goal of net-zero carbon emissions in China, Dinghai can summarize its experiences in trying to achieve net-zero carbon emissions and rural revitalization," said Zhang Zhenshan, director of UN-Habitat's Chinese projects.

The report is expected to be finished by the end of the year and then be submitted to UN-Habitat for examination.

With its efforts to reach net-zero carbon emissions serving as an attraction, Dinghai has been performing well in rural tourism in recent years and its number of tourists increased from 270,000 in 2017 to 2.8 million in 2020.

Wang Xin, deputy director of the UN Environment-Tongji Institute of Environment for Sustainable Development, said that under the background of treating climate change, marine economy-dominated island areas should shift their focus to the low-carbon economy.

"Dinghai can promote net-zero carbon emissions in more fields, including industrial revitalization," added Wang.