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Climate change
EconomyChina Economy

US climate bill still falls short of China’s clean energy investment, says Beijing envoy

  • Xie Zhenhua, China’s special envoy for climate change, says developed nations have failed to contribute US$100 billion per year to combat climate change
  • Xie’s US counterpart, John Kerry, this week urged President Xi Jinping to resume climate change discussions that were suspended by Beijing in August

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Xie Zhenhua, Beijing’s special envoy for climate change, says developed countries are falling short of their climate finance commitments. Photo: Reuters
Orange Wang

The US will still trail China in clean energy investment even after passing a landmark climate bill last month, according to Beijing’s special envoy, adding developed nations are falling short of their climate finance commitments.

By 2021, China had invested US$380 billion in clean energy – “ranking first in the world” – more than the US$370 billion allocated for climate spending in the US Inflation Reduction Act, which President Joe Biden recently signed into law, said Xie Zhenhua, Beijing’s special envoy for climate change.

China’s installed non-fossil fuel energy capacity reached 1.12 billion kilowatts by the end of last year, on par with total US installed energy capacity, which was about 1. 1 billion kW, Xie said on Thursday.

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Last month, Beijing suspended dialogue on climate-change issues with Washington as a part of the response to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.
There has been a lack of political mutual trust on the issue of funds
Xie Zhenhua

Xie’s US counterpart, John Kerry, urged Chinese President Xi Jinping to resume suspended discussions on Tuesday in an interview with the Financial Times.

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