WASHINGTON/BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday (Sep 24) told the United Nations that by 2035, his country plans to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 7 percent to 10 percent below its peak emissions, and called out “some countries” for moving against the global clean energy transition.
Xi addressed a climate leaders’ summit hosted by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a live video message from Beijing, announcing China’s national climate plan, which was expected to be announced before the COP30 climate summit in Brazil in November.
Alongside the emission-reduction goal, Xi said China plans to increase its installed capacity of wind and solar power to over six times their 2020 levels in 10 years and its share of non-fossil fuels in domestic energy consumption to over 30 percent by 2035.
At the same time, he called on the world’s developed countries to take the lead in stronger emissions reductions and climate actions. He referred, though not by name, to the US for moving away from the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate.
“Green and low-carbon transformation is the trend of our times. Despite some countries going against the trend, the international community should stay on the right track, maintain unwavering confidence, unwavering action, and undiminished efforts,” Xi said, calling on countries to keep focused on global climate cooperation.
The summit comes a day after US President Donald Trump used his UN General Assembly speech to blast climate change as a “con job” and criticise countries like EU member states and China for embracing renewable energy technologies.
US President Donald Trump is withdrawing Washington from the 10-year-old Paris Agreement on climate, which aimed to prevent global temperatures from rising beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius through national climate plans. The US is the world’s biggest historical greenhouse gas emitter and second biggest current emitter behind China,
Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, host of the upcoming UN climate summit, warned fellow leaders that the Belem gathering and the updates of national climate plans will show the world “whether or not we believe in what the science is showing us.”
Source: CNA
