China could get a head start in the climate change race.

Aside from the reform plan laid out by President Xi Jinping and the Chinese government, there is a chance that China could peak its carbon emissions ahead of schedule, according to Zhang Guobao, former vice-chairman of China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

"China is the largest producer and consumer of energy in the world, which means that any movements within China will have a global effect on prices," Zhang said through a translator. "And given China's enormous population, the per capita energy consumption figures are key to helping understand China's energy consumption in the right context."

Zhang, who is also a former director of the National Energy Administration of China, made his comments on Thursday at Columbia University in New York during a one-on-one discussion with David Sandalow, the inaugural fellow at Columbia's Center on Global Energy Policy.

Between January and August of this year, Zhang said that alternative energy sources - like wind, solar and other renewable fuel sources- accounted for nearly a quarter of all energy production in China.

Other measures like China's decision to implement a national carbon-trading market by 2017 are ambitious developments too, he said, but there are a lot of people that still depend on coal for their livelihood.

"China is using more coal than all of the other countries in the world combined," he said. "But all of these things considered, peaking early is very possible."

The two discussed a number of topics related to the global scenario for climate change goals, including: ways China can shift the focus of its dependence on coal, global methods to improve energy efficiency and increase the use of low carbon energy substitutes, and how the US and China can continue to promote their shared climate change agenda.

In November 2014, US President Barack Obama and President Xi issued a joint announcement to cut greenhouse gas emissions in their respective countries.

The agreement calls for the United States to cut its 2005 level of carbon emissions by 26 percent to 28 percent before 2025. China has agreed to peak its carbon emissions by 2030, while also looking for increased alternatives to coal-based fuel supplies.

The announcement was made ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference set to take place in Paris in December. Discussions in Paris will be the first time in 20 years that all the nations of the world will try to reach a universal agreement on climate action.

Zhang said that the joint agreement between the US and China would be a boon to the upcoming conference in Paris, where he said he hopes to see the beginning of "a binding agreement" on global climate change initiatives.

jackfreifelder@chinadailyusa.com