By Valerie Volcovici
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Chinese President Xi Jingping on Tuesday announced in his speech before the United Nations General Assembly that China would achieve a peak in carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and carbon neutrality before 2060, signaling its intention to boost the commitment it made under the Paris climate agreement.
Xi used the lectern to call for multilateral action on climate change after U.S. President Donald Trump called the Paris climate agreement – with nearly 200 signatories – a one-sided agreement and criticized China for being the world’s largest emitter of carbon emissions.
“China will scale up its intended Nationally Determined Contributions (to the Paris agreement) by adopting more vigorous policies and measures,” Xi said, and called on all countries to pursue a “green recovery of the world economy in the post-COVID era.”
China is currently aiming to bring its total greenhouse gas emissions to a peak by “around 2030,” while the European Union has asked Beijing to bring the date forward to 2025.
China is currently putting the finishing touches on a new “five-year plan” that will determine how ambitiously it will proceed with its near-term decarbonization plans.
(Reporting by Valerie Volcovici; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
