Country well on track to meet climate goals

Ever since President Xi Jinping announced in September 2020, at the general debate of the 75th Session of the UN General Assembly, that China will peak its carbon emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060, the rest of the world has been waiting to see what practical steps the country is going to take to turn this ambitious blueprint into reality.

China accounts for around a quarter of global carbon emissions, so how well it can fulfill its emissions reduction commitments will have a significant bearing on the international community’s efforts to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees C above preindustrial levels to prevent catastrophic climate change.

Thus a guiding document issued by the central government on Sunday on key specific targets and the measures that China plans to take in the coming decades to achieve its carbon goals under the new development philosophy is inspiring, especially as it comes just days before the gathering of world leaders and climate negotiators in Glasgow for the 26th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Unlike many of the world’s governments, which have already failed to keep their own climate promises, the document released by China shows the government is determined and well on track to meet the country’s climate goals.

The document outlines the major tasks that China

will have to accomplish in the years to come, including creating a green, low-carbon and circular economy, improving energy efficiency, and increasing the share of non-fossil energy consumption, and maps out specific steps that need to be taken to complete the tasks. For example, the country will gradually increase the share of non-fossil energy consumption to around 20 percent by 2025, 25 percent by 2030, and more than 80 percent by 2060.

It also details measures such as promoting comprehensive green transformation in economic and social development, carrying out in-depth industrial restructuring, and building a low-carbon transportation system. Actually, what China aims to do is to realize carbon neutrality from carbon peaking within 30 years, the shortest time of all major economies. In comparison, the European Union will take some 60 years to transition from its carbon peak to neutrality, and the United States 45 years.

Yet despite all the challenges and difficulties, there are reasons to believe that China will be able to deliver on its climate pledges, as the country has been unwavering in shouldering its international responsibilities as a major country to tackle climate change in the building of a community with a shared future for humanity. It outperformed its 2020 carbon emissions target by reaching the goal nearly three years ahead of schedule. It will certainly continue to bring the world more pleasant surprises as it strives to peak its emissions and realize its carbon neutrality goal.