China unveils specific emissions targets
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UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — China on Wednesday issued its first ever absolute targets for cutting planet-warming gases, a landmark pledge from the world’s top polluter as the United States (US) doubles down on fossil fuels and Europe falters.
The announcement was delivered via video by President Xi Jinping to a United Nations (UN) climate summit where some 120 nations will outline plans to curb global warming, which is intensifying disasters worldwide from floods in Pakistan to raging wildfires in Spain.
Under the new plan, China will reduce economy-wide emissions by 7 to 10 percent by 2035 relative to the year of the country’s peak emissions, believed to be 2025.
Observers said that while the absolute figure may seem modest, China has a record of under-promising while over-delivering, driven by its green technology boom.
It comes as the US under President Donald Trump, who called climate change a “con job” at the UN a day earlier, boosts fossil fuels both at home and abroad.
“Green and low carbon transition is the trend of our time,” said Xi in an official translation. “While some country is acting against it, the international community should stay focused in the right direction.”
China, responsible for nearly 30 percent of global emissions, had previously pledged to peak its carbon output before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, without ever previously setting near-term numeric targets for total emissions reductions.
