China pledged at the UN climate summit to reduce emissions by only 7-10% by 2035, prompting condemnation from experts who cautioned that the plan falls well short of what is required to address the situation.
On Wednesday, China published its plans for future greenhouse gas emissions reductions, prompting a harsh response from scientists who warned they were much too modest to prevent a global catastrophe.
The world’s second-largest economy is also the largest generator of carbon dioxide, and its decisions on how far and quickly to transition to a low-carbon model will determine whether the world can maintain generally safe temperature levels. China’s objectives are to reduce emissions by 7% to 10% of their peak by 2035, which is a far way from the 30% reduction that experts thought was doable and essential.
China’s President Xi Jinping made the declaration at a conference of world leaders to confront the climate problem at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Wednesday afternoon.
The US president, Donald Trump, who delivered a rambling speech on Tuesday dismissing the climate problem as a “con job,” was not in attendance. Xi made an oblique reference to the United States, stating that “some countries” were not responding to the climate challenge. “The international community should stay focused on the right direction,” the minister said. “Countries must fulfill their responsibilities.” The rights of developing countries must be completely honored.
However, many believe China is failing to demonstrate leadership in its climate obligations. Kaysie Brown, associate director for climate diplomacy and governance at the E3G thinktank, stated that China’s 2035 objective falls far short of what is required. It is not consistent with China’s economic decarbonization strategy or its own 2060 carbon neutrality objective.
“Without stronger near-term ambition, China risks undermining its claim to upholding multilateralism and its clean economy leadership, and sending mixed signals to global markets.”
Others quietly observed that China had a long history of setting unambitious goals only to significantly exceed them. “Underpromising and overdelivering is what we expect from China,” according to one climate diplomat.
