“Climate ambition” summit: new promises from China and India
Chinese President Xi Jinping has pledged that China will reach its peak of CO2 emissions by 2030 (illustrative image).
REUTERS / Aly Song / File Photo
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At a summit marking the fifth anniversary of the Paris Agreement, China and India took another step on Saturday, December 12, in their commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but the promises of Beijing, the world's largest polluter, are deemed insufficient by NGOs.
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During an online summit organized by the UN, the United Kingdom and France to mark the 5th anniversary of the Paris Agreement, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that his country would reduce its carbon intensity (CO2 emissions to GDP) of 65% by 2030 compared to 2005 levels. He also pledged that China will reach its peak of CO2 emissions by 2030, repeating a commitment made in September 2020, when he had promised to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. Renewable energies will account for 25% of China's primary energy consumption by 2030, he said on Saturday, against 15.3% at the end of 2019. The capacity of wind and solar power plants will reach 1,200 gigawatts by the end of the decade, he added, quoted by AFP.
New reduction plans every five years
More than 70 heads of state and government attended this summit, the objective of which is to relaunch efforts to combat climate change, five years after the Paris Agreement during which the international community pledged to contain warming well below 2 ° C compared to the pre-industrial era.
This agreement provides for States to submit new plans to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions every five years, current commitments not being sufficient to achieve this objective.
For Li Shuo of Greenpeace China, “
Beijing has the potential to do more
”.
China "
should still work to reach the peak of its emissions before 2025,
" he told AFP.
These announcements are going in the right direction, but "
China would
reap
greater economic and social benefits by aiming
" for more ambitious goals, adds Manish Bapna of the research institute, World Resources Institute (WRI).
In 2020, CO2 emissions of fossil origin experienced a record drop of 7% worldwide, due to the health measures taken against Covid-19, according to the annual report of the Global carbon project (GCP).
Those of China, on the other hand, fell by only 1.7%, the recovery in activity having been faster and stronger than in other regions of the world.
In India, no date for carbon neutrality
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said for his part that his country, the world's fourth largest emitter of GHGs, aims for a total renewable energy capacity of 450 GW by 2030. By 2047, the year which will mark the 100th anniversary of its independence, India "
will not only achieve its own objectives, but will exceed your attainments
", he assured.
India has not set a date for achieving carbon neutrality, unlike other major economies.
Ahead of the summit, several states announced bold plans to reduce their GHG emissions.
Thus, on Friday 11 December, the 27 countries of the European Union agreed to reduce their emissions by "at least 55%" by 2030 compared to the 1990 level, against -40% previously, in order to '' achieve carbon neutrality in 2050.
Our expectations are disappointed.
Véronique Andrieux, Director General of WWF
Sylvie Koffi
►
See also: “Climate ambition” summit: a new lease of life for the fight against global warming
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