As I see it | China needs more people power at home and trust from abroad to deliver on its bold 2060 carbon neutral pledge

China is not known for its environmental record, especially when it comes to delivering.

As the world’s top carbon polluter and energy consumer, it has produced more greenhouse gases than that of the United States and the European Union combined since 2012. With its poor record on pollution control and its image of being non-committal on climate issues, China has often been mocked, and even vilified, as “the culprit of global warming”.

But it has not stopped Beijing from becoming increasingly assertive and playing the climate card in global politics, especially after the debacle at the 2009 Copenhagen climate summit at which China was characterised as a villain. Against this backdrop, President Xi Jinping’s surprise pledge a fortnight ago to make China carbon neutral by 2060 was of particular significance both at home and abroad.

For one thing, it shows yet again that China knows how to use its leverage on climate change in a global power play. Six years ago, Xi made a pledge to then US president Barack Obama that China’s carbon emissions would peak by 2030, making it one of the few bright spots in the often turbulent US-China relations.

Xi’s latest commitment is far more ambitious, which means the country’s coal-dependent, growth-obsessed economy will see its net carbon emissions reduced to zero just three decades after 2030.

Many hailed the carbon neutrality goal, which showed China’s “highest possible ambition”, according to Foreign Minister Wang Yi last year, as a potentially planet-saving move that might breathe new life into the flagging international fight on climate as the US retreats from global leadership.