Climate change: China aims for ‘carbon neutrality by 2060’

China will aim to reach maximum emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060, announced President Xi Jinping.

Mr. Xi described the steps when he spoke via video link to the UN General Assembly in New York.

The announcement is seen as an important step in the fight against climate change.

China is the world’s largest source of carbon dioxide, responsible for around 28% of global emissions.

With the global climate negotiations stalled and this year’s conference of the parties (COP26) postponed until 2021, there was little expectation of progress on the issue at the UN General Assembly.

However, China’s president surprised the UN meeting by making a bold statement about his country’s plans to tackle emissions.

He called on all countries to achieve a green recovery for the world economy in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

According to the official translation, Xi went on to say:

“Our goal is to peak CO2 emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.”

So far, China has said it will peak emissions by 2030 at the latest, but has avoided committing to a long-term goal.

China’s emissions continued to rise in 2018 and 2019 even as much of the world began to shift away from fossil fuels.

While the Covid-19 crisis this spring sent the country’s emissions plummeting by 25%, by June they had recovered again when coal, cement and other heavy industries were back online.

Observers believe that by making this statement at this time, the Chinese leader is taking advantage of the United States’ reluctance to address the climate issue.

“Xi Jinping’s climate promise at the UN, minutes after President Donald Trump’s speech, is clearly a bold and well-calculated move,” said Li Shuo, an expert on Chinese climate policy at Greenpeace Asia.

“It shows Xi’s continued interest in tapping the climate agenda for geopolitical purposes.”

In 2014, Xi and then-US President Barack Obama reached a surprise agreement on climate change, which became a fundamental pillar of the Paris agreement signed in December 2015.

Xi has once again surprised Li Shuo.

“By playing the climate card a little differently, Xi has not only injected much-needed momentum into global climate policy, but has brought an intriguing geopolitical question to the world: On a common global theme, China has moved forward independently. of the United States. Will Washington continue? “

There are many questions about the announcement that remain unanswered, including what exactly is meant by carbon neutrality and what actions the country will take to achieve it.

“Today’s announcement by President Xi Jinping that China intends to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060 is big and important news – the closer to 2050, the better,” said former US climate envoy Todd. Stern.

“Your announcement that China will immediately start down this path by adopting stronger policies is also welcome. Simply hitting an emissions peak ‘before 2030’ will not be enough to put China on the fast track needed for carbon neutrality, but overall this is a very encouraging step. “

Most observers agreed that China’s announcement was a significant step, especially given the country’s role in financing fossil fuel development around the world.

“China is not just the world’s largest emitter, but the largest energy funder and largest market, so its decisions play a big role in shaping how the rest of the world progresses with its transition from fossil fuels causing climate change, “he said. Richard Black, director of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), a UK-based think tank.

“Today’s announcement is also a great encouragement to the European Union, whose leaders recently urged President Xi to take exactly this step as part of a joint effort to cut emissions, showing that international movements to curb climate change are still alive. despite the best efforts of Donald Trump and [Brazil’s president] Jair Bolsonaro in the run-up to next year’s COP26 in Glasgow. “

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