Advertisement
Opinion | Climate change: the ball is in China’s court to do more on emissions cuts
- In many ways, the fate of the Paris Agreement rests on the decisions China will take this decade and the impact this has on other countries
- Actions such as enhancing its Paris targets and ending the financing of coal power are in China’s interests – it just has to recognise it
Reading Time:4 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
17
US-China relations might be at their lowest point in nearly 50 years, but the importance of US-China action on climate change is greater than ever. From this action, collaboration can blossom.
Advertisement
When the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1979, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was around 336 parts per million – just shy of what scientists consider safe for human civilisation. Today, we are at 417 parts per million and this continues to rise.
The United States might be the largest historical emitter, but China is the largest emitter today and the gap is widening. With US President Joe Biden’s commitment last month to halve emissions by 2030, the US share of global emissions will fall further in the coming decade. Conversely, China’s share of global emissions will grow rapidly, given that the government does not plan to hit peak emissions before the end of the same decade.
While President Xi Jinping’s announcement last month that China will reach peak coal emissions by 2025 was welcome, it was also unsurprising if the country is to be able to reach its goal to peak overall carbon emissions just a few years later, given that 60 per cent of these emissions stem from coal.
Therefore, the challenge for China remains what more it can do to tackle climate change – for itself and for the world. In many ways, the fate of the Paris Agreement and its goals rests on the decisions Beijing will take this decade and the impact this will have on other capitals, including New Delhi.
03:27
World leaders pledge to cut greenhouse emissions at virtual Earth Day summit
World leaders pledge to cut greenhouse emissions at virtual Earth Day summit
To make the most of this transition, geopolitically and economically, China will need to be able to outline additional steps it will take this year, and especially in the lead-up to COP26 in Glasgow.
Advertisement