China wants the world to know it’s serious about addressing climate change whether or not nations reach a global deal to curb carbon emissions at United Nations negotiations this December in Paris.
Gao Feng, China’s climate negotiator, said that curbing greenhouse gas emissions that scientists blame for warming the planet is an ancillary result of the country’s attempt to make its economy more efficient. While international talks on climate are expected to be contentious, Gao said China is committed to transitioning away from a consumption-led economy that has been wasteful with its energy.
“Our economy is now reaching a new phase. After the world economic crisis, U.S., China, together with a lot of countries are trying to make a change. For us, climate change is something that is on the surface … but deep in there is a change in the whole economy. We’ve got to make the economy more efficient, including energy efficient,” Gao said at a Washington, D.C., event hosted by the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions.
Hu Jintao laid the framework for shifting toward a more energy efficient economic model 12 years ago, but those goals never materialized, Gao said. China’s growth skyrocketed on the heels of a manufacturing boom driven by global demand for its cheap goods. But the economy overheated, in part due to weak recoveries in Europe and elsewhere. Debts are weighing down Chinese companies and households in a lending-fed surge. The country is now trying to buoy growth through domestic consumption and an emphasis on services.
But many international observers have been skeptical of whether China is a real partner in global climate negotiations. Participants hope the talks will yield a structure for enforcing emissions reductions beyond 2020. They believe these reductions will keep global temperatures from rising 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels by 2100. China, which is the world’s top greenhouse gas emitter, had obstructed previous deals by refusing emissions caps which it said would keep millions of Chinese in poverty.
In the United States, Republicans contend Chinese President Xi Jinping hoodwinked President Obama when the two leaders agreed in November on a non-binding bilateral deal to curb emissions.
Obama committed the U.S. to slashing economy-wide emissions by at least 26 percent by 2025, which is the official target the White House offered as the U.S. contribution to the U.N. climate negotiations. China, meanwhile, agreed to get 20 percent of its electricity from zero-emission sources by 2030, but its emissions would be allowed to rise until around that date.
Senate Republicans have attempted to prevent Obama from striking such deals, saying they amount to unilateral action because they contain no mechanisms to hold China or others accountable for honoring their end of the agreement.
But Gao said China is sincere. He noted Xi “may” come to the White House for his first official visit this year, where climate change would likely emerge as a discussion topic. The next round of the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue held this year in Washington could also yield a new climate agreement.
“We have still a very large gap between the United States with economic efficiency, with Japan, Europe. So we want to address that. And climate change is just part of the effort,” Gao said. “We ourselves want to do it. Even without any international agreement we will do it.”
