Comment on China carbon neutrality pledge

Commenting on a pledge today by Chinese President Xi Jinping to the UN General Assembly that China will bring its carbon emissions to a peak by 2030, and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, Richard Black, Director of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) said:

“This is the first time that China, the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter, has pledged to end its net contribution to climate change so although details are scarce at the moment, this looks like a very significant step forward.

“China isn’t just the world’s biggest emitter but the biggest energy financier and biggest market, so its decisions play a major role in shaping how the rest of the world progresses with its transition away from the fossil fuels that cause climate change.

“The announcement today is also a major fillip for the European Union, whose leaders recently urged President Xi to take exactly this step as part of a joint push on lowering emissions, showing that international moves to curb climate change remain alive despite the best efforts of Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro in the run-up to next year’s COP26 in Glasgow.”