Editorial | China must show the world and deliver on its emissions pledges

The latest sessions of the United Nations General Assembly will be remembered for more than being virtual events amid a pandemic. They will also be remembered for a defining moment in climate-change politics.

Soon after US President Donald Trump, whose country has turned its back on international action, used his address to accuse China of rampant pollution, President Xi Jinping chose the same platform to reveal for the first time Beijing’s long-term goals to reduce carbon emissions under the Paris climate agreement. They are for emissions to peak in 2030 before trending down, and for the world’s biggest emitter to become carbon neutral by 2060.

Given that Xi speaks for a fifth of the world’s population and a rapidly growing economy, mixed reactions are unsurprising. Some say carbon neutrality, a big promise, is a bridge too far. At the same time, the significance of what China has promised for an economy of its size should not be played down simply because 2060 sounds far away. It is important news when the other two big polluters, the United States and India, are not committed to any goals. Ultimately it could have a big impact.

Under Trump, climate change has slipped down the American agenda and even the media has begun to talk less about it. The reality is that even if China, where coal still accounts for more than half of primary energy consumption, achieves such ambitious goals, it could be only incremental in combating global climate change unless other major economies upgrade their commitments under the agreement.

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China’s industrial heartland ‘sacrificed’ in war on pollution

China’s industrial heartland ‘sacrificed’ in war on pollution

The question is whether other countries will step up with revised emissions targets expected by the end of this year. Otherwise, if we are to believe global warming science, climate change remains a clear, dire and increasingly imminent threat.