Opinion | ‘Carbon neutrality’, ‘emission peak’ becoming buzzwords shows China is taking its 2060 climate change goal seriously

President Xi Jinping said at the United Nations General Assembly in September 2020 that the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases would reach carbon neutrality by 2060

China has also pledged to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by ‘at least’ 65 per cent from 2005 levels by 2030

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China has also pledged to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by “at least” 65 per cent from 2005 levels by 2030. Photo: Reuters

Published: 5:30am, 30 Mar 2021Updated: 5:46am, 30 Mar 2021

The whole Chinese state system has been mobilised towards self-imposed milestones in reducing carbon emissions, with “carbon neutrality” and “emission peak” becoming catchphrases, defying doubts that its pledge is a trick to win short-term goodwill from the Biden administration.

President Xi Jinping told a meeting earlier this month that China’s efforts to achieve carbon neutrality would bring a “far-reaching and deep systemic social and economic transformation” and it matters for the “external development of the Chinese nation”.

Beijing’s attitude towards climate change has gone through big changes over the past years. About a decade ago, the mainstream view was that China must not accept any caps on its carbon emissions.

Any pleas for China to restrict carbon emissions were seen as a conspiracy by developed countries to slow its development, and Beijing cited concepts such as “emission per person” to justify its emissions. This contributed to the collapse of Copenhagen climate change talks in 2009 – although Beijing denied that.

Since Xi took power, he has been trying to give considerable weighting to the environment and climate in the country’s development.