Advertisement
Climate change: Xi Jinping makes bold pledge for China to be carbon neutral by 2060
- President announces new emissions goals in video address to UN General Assembly, just after Donald Trump slams Beijing for ‘rampant pollution’
- Observer calls it a well-calculated move aimed at ‘contrasting China’s climate ambitions with the climate inaction of the US’
Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
President Xi Jinping for the first time announced China’s long-term goals to reduce carbon emissions on Tuesday – less than an hour after his US counterpart Donald Trump slammed Beijing for “rampant pollution”.
Advertisement
Xi told the United Nations General Assembly that China would scale up its voluntary emissions targets under the Paris climate agreement, that it aimed to hit peak emissions before 2030, and to achieve carbon neutrality before 2060.
“The Paris Agreement … outlines the minimum steps to be taken to protect the Earth, our shared homeland, and all countries must take decisive steps to honour this agreement,” Xi said in a video address.
China’s pledges were welcomed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
“It’s an important step in our global fight against climate change under the Paris Agreement. We will work with China on this goal. But a lot of work remains to be done,” von der Leyen said in a tweet on Wednesday.
Advertisement
Cooperation with European nations to combat climate change and reduce emissions has been a consistent pitch from Chinese leaders in recent years, and both sides have stressed their common interest and ambitions on the issue.
Advertisement