Cop28: where does China stand on coal and renewable energy ahead of the UN climate conference’s tough negotiations?

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The country is unlikely to commit to more than it has already when it comes to phasing out coal, a climate analyst says

China will face pressure to step up its own renewable energy targets and help less developed nations make progress on theirs, another analyst says

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Eric NgandYujie Xue

Published: 12:30pm, 29 Nov 2023Updated: 12:11pm, 2 Dec 2023

At the 28th annual United Nations Climate Change Conference, starting on Thursday, negotiators from around the world will try to thrash out new global commitments to mitigate and adapt to climate change, one of the toughest challenges facing humanity.

Better known as Cop28, the 13-day event will gather more than 70,000 delegates – mainly public and private sector leaders, academics and non-government interest groups – in Expo City Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.

The climate-change talks will take place against a backdrop of record-breaking extreme climate events witnessed all over the world in 2023, highlighting the urgent need for the global community to step up its actions.

“The world is witnessing a disturbing acceleration in the number, speed and scale of broken climate records,” the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) said in a November 20 report, where it added that 2023 had already seen 86 days where the global average temperature exceeded 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

A hybrid power station consisting of wind turbines, solar panels and fish ponds, pictured on June 11, 2022 in Dongtai, Jiangsu province of China. Photo: Getty Images

This alone does not mean the world has already breached the Paris Agreement’s goal of containing global warming to 1.5 degrees, because that goal is based on a multi-decade average. But it does show the world is on a path to do so, the report said.

Cop28: where does China stand on coal and renewable energy ahead of the UN climate conference’s tough negotiations?

The country is unlikely to commit to more than it has already when it comes to phasing out coal, a climate analyst says China will face pressure to step up its own renewable energy targets and help less developed nations make progress on theirs, another analyst says

The country is unlikely to commit to more than it has already when it comes to phasing out coal, a climate analyst says

China will face pressure to step up its own renewable energy targets and help less developed nations make progress on theirs, another analyst says