China joins US in leading fight against climate change, report says
Independent report lauds Beijing's push for renewable energy but warns global carbon emissions are still rising strongly
China is rapidly assuming a global leadership role on climate change alongside the United States, a new study says today, but it warns that greenhouse gas emissions worldwide continue to rise strongly.
It was released on the same day as a fresh round of United Nations talks are slated to start in Bonn on boosting action on climate change - a two-decade-long process that has been dogged by procedural bickering and defence of national interests.
The study found that every major economy had policies in place to tackle the issue, but China was at the forefront in strengthening its response, "taking ambitious strides to add renewable energy to its mix."
"China is accelerating action," said Tim Flannery, the co-author and a key figure at the Climate Commission, which brings together world-renowned scientists, as well as policy and business leaders. "China has halved its growth in electricity demand, dramatically increased its renewable energy capacity, and decelerated its emissions growth more quickly than expected.
"After years of strong growth in coal use, this has begun to level off. They are beginning to put in place seven emissions trading schemes that will cover a quarter of a billion people," he said.
The report added that China, which this month agreed to work with the US to tackle global warming, wanted "to position themselves as the world's renewable energy leader". "Whatever the reason, the results speak for themselves. China is quickly moving to the top of the leader board on climate change," said Flannery.