China, the world’s biggest producer of greenhouse gases, has said it will cut its carbon dioxide emissions to nearly zero by 2060, in a surprise move announced at the virtual UN General Assembly in New York. President Xi Jinping told the UN meeting that China planned to be “carbon neutral” before 2060, adding that the coronavirus pandemic had showed the world needed a “revolution” that would speed up “green development”.
“The human race cannot ignore the warnings of nature over and over again,” he said, adding that the 2015 Paris climate agreement was the “minimum” that was needed to protect the earth. The new target will require a radical reshaping of the world’s second-largest economy, and could push coal demand in China – which accounts for half the world’s consumption of the fuel – to close to zero.
China, which emits about 28 per cent of global carbon dioxide, previously promised its emissions would peak by 2030, but had refused to set a date to begin cutting back on the grounds that it was a developing country.
Beijing’s announcement will raise the pressure on the US, which is now the biggest emitter in the world that does not have a carbon-neutral target. Several other major economies, including the EU and the UK, have targeted zero emissions by 2 0 5 0. President Donald Trump will officially withdraw the US from the Paris climate agreement in November and has refused to honour any emissions’ targets for the US. Speaking before Mr Xi, Mr Trump said the US had cut its carbon emissions despite leaving the Paris accord.
“Those who attack America’s exceptional environmental record while ignoring China’s rapid pollution, are not interested in the environment,” he said, adding that critics sought only to “punish” America. For China to achieve a net-zero target will require dramatic cuts in emissions, with any remaining pollution offset bygreen projects such as reforesting.