A report published on Monday in the journal, 'Nature Geoscience', says the glory days of coal consumption in China have come and gone. But is the peak of coal consumption in China truly a thing of the past?

CCTV reporter Zhang He sat down with Professor Nicholas Stern from the London School of Economics and Political Science to try to find the answer.

Interview with Nicholas Stern: Are glory days of coal consumption truly over?

Q. We know China’s economy relay so much on the coal consumption. The coal will be primary source for the energy use in the coming decades in China. How do you think China's economy can move away from the coal consumption?

A. While, the first thing is to use less energy. So those two methods really use less energy and use it much more efficiently and change the structure of the economy, and switch the source of the energy to other things, like renewable, nuclear and to some extend gas and so on.

Q. So it is a turning point for China’s economic growth pattern, but also a turning point for the world to combat climate change. Isn’t it?

A. It is a very important turning point. China has a very large economy. In my view, in ten years, China's emissions will start to decline.

Q. We still remember last December, the climate deal was signed in Paris, setting the goal for climate change by 2030. Do you think this positive development will help China achieve its goal?

A. Yes, China was quite careful at Paris, said it would peak its emissions by 2030. China will be showing the world that it can make its target more ambitious, and I think that will be a very strong lesson to the rest of the world that we can to better and grow at the same time.