China, the world’s biggest source of planet-warming gases, has for the first time committed to an absolute target to cut its emissions.
in a video statement to the UN in New York, President Xi Jinping said that China would reduce its greenhouse gas emissions across the economy by 7-10% by 2035, while ‘striving to do better’.
the announcement comes at a time when the US is rolling back on its commitments, with President Donald Trump recently calling climate change a ‘con job’. But some critics said China’s plan did not go as far as hoped to keep global climate goals in reach. ‘Even for those with tempered expectations, what’s presented today still falls short,’ said Yao Zhe, global policy adviser at Greenpeace East Asia. While the year’s big gathering of global leaders will be at COP30 in Brazil in November, the UN meeting in New York has extra relevance because countries are running out of time to submit their new climate plans.
these pledges – submitted every five years – are a key part of the Paris climate agreement, the landmark deal in which nearly 200 countries agreed steps to try to limit global warming.
the original deadline for these new commitments, covering emissions cuts by 2035, was back in February, but countries are now scrambling to present them by the end of September. Speaking before the meeting, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the pledges were critical to keep the long-term rise in global temperatures under 1.5C, as agreed in Paris.