China today committed to reducing economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions by 7-10pc from peak levels, the most specific near-term emissions target from the world's largest source of climate-warming pollution.
President Xi Jinping announced the new target at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, providing a clearer signal of the country's climate ambitions ahead of the UN Cop 30 summit in Belem, Brazil, this November. The country had previously committed to peak emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.
The new commitment, while lacking details like the baseline year for emissions reductions and described by environmentalists as insufficient, was still remarkable the day after US president Donald Trump told the UN that climate change is a "hoax".
Trump pulled the US of the Paris Agreement in January and has since slashed subsidies for renewable energy, testing the world's resolve to address climate change and upping the importance of China's emissions goals. Brazil says it wants to use the upcoming Cop to continue driving action following the "global stocktake" two years ago in Dubai, which will rely on countries providing more aggressive pledges, known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs).
"Beijing tends to set targets that it can confidently deliver and prioritizes keeping any promises", Greenpeace East Asia global policy advisor Yao Zhe said. "What's hopeful is that the actual decarbonization of China's economy is likely to exceed its target on paper".
China also committed to increasing the share of energy it consumes from sources other than fossil fuels to 30pc of its total energy consumption, expand installed capacity of wind and solar power to 3,600GW, use more electric vehicles, and expand its carbon trading market to cover more sources.
"Cop 30 in Brazil must conclude with a credible global response plan to get us on track", UN secretary general Antonio Guterres said at the side event dedicated to climate change.
