China becoming key country in global "green revolution": Nobel Prize winner

China is becoming a key country in the global "green revolution", said the 1995 Nobel Prize winner in chemistry Mario Molina Pasquel on Thursday.

The Mexican scientist spoke to Xinhua on the sidelines of the 6th Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM6) meeting hosted by Mexico's eastern city of Merida on Wednesday and Thursday.

China, he said, is developing wind, solar and nuclear energy in an effort to reduce its carbon emissions.

China also signed a landmark agreement with the United States in November 2014 to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the coming decades, he noted.

As part of the agreement, the United States, where Molina has worked on several scientific projects, has pledged to lower its carbon emissions by 26 to 28 percent from levels established in 2005.

China, in turn, aims to generate 20 percent of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2030 as a way to cut down on its greenhouse gas emissions.

"From my point of view, countries are facing a global problem, the most serious problem in recent years, that of climate change, which requires a revolution in energy systems," said Molina.

Societies "can't suddenly abandon fossil fuels due to the (high) cost" that would be incurred, but they can and must turn to alternatives, especially since "not doing so would have much costlier climatic effects," said Molina.

Molina, a pioneer in the research of atmospheric chemistry, said countries "must move faster" towards renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar and hydroelectric power, or even nuclear power, which he considers to be "very safe."

They must launch an "energy revolution" to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels, Molina added.