China’s new climate target ‘falls well short’, says EU
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As the world’s biggest polluter, China’s emissions target will be decisive to global efforts to curtail climate change.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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BRUSSELS – China’s new climate pledge “falls well short” and will make it harder to reach global targets to slow climate change, the European Union’s climate chief said on Sept 25, as the bloc struggles to agree its own emissions-cutting goal.
China led several countries in announcing climate plans at the UN on Sept 24. Chinese President Xi Jinping said that by 2035, his country would cut greenhouse gas emissions by 7 per cent to 10 per cent from their peak.
The EU did not announce a new climate target this week, after its member countries failed to agree on one in time for the UN summit.
“Unfortunately, the NDC (nationally determined contributions) they have submitted falls well short of what we believe is both achievable and necessary. This level of ambition is clearly disappointing, and given China’s immense footprint, it makes reaching the world’s climate goals significantly more challenging,” EU climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra said in a statement.
The UN refers to countries’ climate targets as “nationally determined contributions”.
“We will continue to push China, (and others), to go beyond the current level of ambition, and respect our joint commitments under the Paris Agreement,” Mr Hoekstra said.
China’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
As the world’s biggest polluter, China’s emissions target will be decisive for global efforts to curtail climate change.
Its target marked the first time Beijing pledged to reduce emissions. But the reduction was far less than the 30 per cent cut by 2035 that some scientists said was needed to align China with the globally agreed goal of limiting warming to 1.5 deg C.
Faced with US President Donald Trump’s opposition to addressing climate change, other major emitters are attempting to build momentum ahead of the 2025 COP30 climate summit in November.
But the EU’s 2035 climate target has been held up by divisions among its members over how ambitious the goal should be.
EU countries have pledged to submit the target in time for COP30 and agreed it would cut emissions between 66.25 per cent and 72.5 per cent by 2035. REUTERS
