Calling climate change “today’s challenge faced by all humanity,” China, the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gas emissions, formally pledged to hit peak carbon emissions “around 2030” while taking steps to delink emissions and economic growth.
China’s pledged contribution to United Nations climate talks scheduled to begin in late November in Paris is aimed at building momentum for a global pact to rein in emissions that most climate scientists say is warming the planet. China and the United States, which also is taking a lead in the climate talks, account for nearly half of global emissions.
Bringing China on board for negotiations is seen as a significant departure from past discussions, where the world’s most populous nation obstructed accords because it said curbing emissions would keep millions in poverty.
Now, China contends it can grow economically without boosting greenhouse gas emissions. It said it would slash carbon emissions between 60 and 65 percent per unit of gross domestic product compared with 2005 levels while also getting one-fifth of its power from non-fossil fuel energy sources.
“A 1,000-mile journey starts from the first step,” China said in its formal submission to the U.N. “To achieve the nationally determined action objectives on climate change by 2030, China needs, building on actions already taken, to make a sustained effort in further implementing enhanced policies and measures in areas such as regime building, production mode and consumption pattern, economic policy, science and technology innovation and international cooperation.”
China said it would increase forest land by about 4.5 billion cubic meters compared with 2005 levels, boosting the nation’s ability to swallow carbon emissions. It also touted carbon trading programs in seven provinces and expansions in zero-carbon wind and nuclear power.
The White House praised the announcement Tuesday, as senior adviser Brian Deese said it “helps to provide continued momentum toward reaching a successful climate agreement in Paris.”
“Countries accounting for nearly 70 percent of current global energy carbon-dioxide emissions have already announced and are taking action on post-2020 climate policies,” Deese added.
As China’s role in international negotiations takes a new approach, so too has its economy, which is undoubtedly helping the political will to become a more serious participant in reining in emissions.
The country’s manufacturing and construction sectors have hit a bit of a wall and, with it, so have emissions as Chinese coal consumption has fallen sharply. Chinese standards of living are also increasing, as are demands on cleaning up industrial pollution. That has compelled Beijing to shutter the four remaining coal-fired power plants in the city by next year. China is still building more coal-fired power plants, but it plans to cap consumption by 2020.
Republicans, though, have charged that the emissions pact China signed with the U.S. in November allows China to continue business as usual through 2030. The deal largely mirrors the goals outlined in China’s U.N. pledge. Under the terms, the U.S. is committed to reducing emissions by at least 26 percent compared with 2005 levels by 2025.
GOP lawmakers have vowed to block the U.S. from agreeing to emissions cuts through the U.N. process, though the Obama administration is pursuing a plan that it says wouldn’t require Senate approval. The preferred U.S. model would include non-binding emissions pledges while setting up a framework for reviewing and updating progress.
Most experts don’t believe the product of the U.N. talks will keep global temperatures from rising 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels by 2100, the mark the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says would bring irreversible climate change. Instead, they hope it creates a system for governing emissions beyond 2020 to avoid the 2-degree level.
