NEW YORK - Chinese president Xi Jinping has announced via video link to the United Nations' General Assembly in New York the outlined steps on how China will hit peak emissions before 2030 and aims for carbon neutrality by 2060.
The announcement made by the Chinese president is being considered as a major step in the battle against climate change.
Based on the current numbers, China is the biggest source of carbon dioxide in the world, as they were responsible for an estimated 28% of the emissions across the globe.
There had been a little expectation of progress regarding the issue at the general assembly of the UN as the global climate negotiations are currently stalled because of the ongoing pandemic together with this year's conference of the parties or the COP 26 which was postponed until 2021, BBC reported.
But the president Xi Jinping of China surprised everyone who was present at the gathering in the UN by sharing the bold statement about the plan of his country in tackling the emission problems.
The Chinese president called the attention of all countries in order to achieve the green recovery for the world economy in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Based on the official translation, Mr. Xi shared that they are aiming to have CO2 emissions peak before 2030 and achieve their target carbon neutrality before the year 2060.
China is currently targeting 2030 as the peak of its emissions but based on the past the nation avoided committing to these long-term goals.
According to Star Tribune, despite the world already shifting away from fossil fuels, the emissions produced from China still continued to go up in 2018 and 2019.
Because of the closures brought by the coronavirus pandemic in the first half of the year, the emission rate of the country plunged by 25% but by June the numbers bounced back after the coal-powered plant and heavy industries went back to their operations.
According to some observers, by making this statement at this point in time, the Chinese president is taking advantage of the reluctance of the United States in addressing the climate question.
Expert on Chinese climate policy from Greenpeace Asia, Li Shuo shared that Xi Jinping's pledge at the climate change issue at the United Nations just minutes after United States President Donald Trump gave his speech is such a bold and a well-calculated move for the Chinese president.
He also added that it clearly shows the consistent interest of XI in leveraging the climate change issue for geopolitical purposes.
Way back 2014, United States president at that time Barack Obama, and Mr. Xi came to an unexpected agreement regarding climate change which translated to become the key in a building block for the Paris agreement signed in December of 2015.
The move made by Mr. Xi reminded Li Shuo about the unexpected move in 2014.
The announcement made by the Chinese president popped many questions, like what was meant by Mr. Xi about the carbon neutrality and what actions will they do in order to achieve it leaving the announcement unanswered questions still.
