Xi Jinping underlines China is on its own carbon reduction path during US climate envoy John Kerry’s Beijing visit
- Commitment to reduce emissions is ‘unswerving’ but will not be controlled by anyone else, Chinese leader tells senior officials
- The president’s remarks coincide with US special envoy on climate change John Kerry’s trip to Beijing for talks
Xi was speaking at a two-day national conference on ecological and environmental protection that started on Monday, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported on Tuesday night.
“China’s commitments are unswerving, but the path towards the goals as well as the manner, pace and intensity of efforts to achieve them should and must be determined by the country itself, rather than swayed by others,” he said.
“[We should] actively and steadily work toward carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, foster a clean, low-carbon, safe and efficient energy system, accelerate the formation of a new power system and strengthen the country’s capability of guaranteeing oil and gas security.”
Xi also urged the country to safeguard ecological security and nuclear and radiation safety to “ensure that the natural environment and conditions, which are the foundation of survival and development, are not threatened or damaged”.
He asked for a concerted legal, market, technological and policy effort to achieve his goals.
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The conference was attended by all seven members of the Politburo Standing Committee, the pinnacle of the party’s decision-making apparatus, as well as a wide range of party and government bodies.
Kerry, whose four-day visit concludes on Wednesday, has met Premier Li Qiang and top diplomat Wang Yi, as he seeks consensus on the fight against climate change.
There are also hopes his trip will add positive momentum to US-China relations, in their worst shape in decades.
Kerry tweeted on Tuesday that he appreciated the opportunity to have “an important discussion” with Li on how the US and China can work together to keep the pledge to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius about pre-industrial levels – a commitment of the 2015 Paris agreement – alive.
Li called for both sides to stick to climate commitments made in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement.
Xi promised in September 2020 that China’s carbon emissions would peak by 2030 and become carbon neutral by 2060. In 2021, he said China would tightly control coal consumption and gradually reduce it after 2025.
China has repeatedly emphasised the need to secure its energy security and deliver on its climate commitments.
The most recent government work report to address the issue – submitted to the National People’s Congress, China’s legislature, in March by the previous premier Li Keqiang – said research and development of clean energy was a priority for 2023.
In April, the National Energy Administration announced plans to add 160 million kilowatts of installed wind and solar capacity by the end of this year, boosting the share of wind and solar electricity to 15.3 per cent of society’s energy use.
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“Three years after making its carbon-reduction pledge, China’s energy and industrial transitions are still far from complete,” said Ma Jun, director of the Institute for Public and Environmental Affairs, a non-profit environmental research firm.
While China’s renewable energy is increasing, China has approved more coal projects recently, noted Ma. “Due to complex geopolitical changes, China has shifted its focus to energy security,” he said.
A major stumbling block to an agreement between the US and China on climate issues is China’s use of coal power. Washington wants China to reduce its domestic reliance on coal to cut more methane emissions. But Xi has reiterated many times that it is a matter of “energy security”.
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There has been a significant increase in approvals for coal power projects within China since last summer’s extreme heatwave, which led to power supply crunches in several southern provinces. The rise in domestic approvals has sparked international concern about China’s ability to deliver on its climate promise.
On Kerry’s last visit to China in August 2021, he asked Beijing to stop funding coal power projects outside its borders. A month later, at the UN General Assembly, Xi announced that China would no longer build new coal power overseas.
Regarding China and US’s differences in climate issues and carbon reduction, Ma said, “What we have to see is what kind of cooperation the two sides are going to go for, and whether they can achieve a win-win situation on what each side is good at.”
