Chinese premier promises to increase CO2 cuts, forest cover and renewable energy as scores of world leaders reassert backing for Paris Agreement at Climate Ambition Summit
Chinese President Xi Jinping has promised to ramp up climate efforts in the world's biggest emitting nation over the next decade, announcing several new commitments to slash emissions, grow its renewable energy sources and increase forestry cover at the UN Climate Ambition Summit today.
President Xi, one of around 75 world leaders scheduled to speak at the virtual UN summit today, reiterated his landmark pledge first made in September to peak China's carbon dioxide emissions before 2030, before reaching carbon neutrality before 2060.
And, further bolstering that commitment, the Chinese premier today said China would cut CO2 per unit of GDP by 65 per cent by 2030, from a 2005 baseline, in addition to increasing its forestry stock by six billion cubic metres over the same timeframe.
Moreover, Xi unveiled new commitments to increase China's green energy sources, with a target to boost the share of non-fossil fuel energy to 25 per cent of primary energy demand by 2030, in addition to delivering 1.2 billion kilowatts of solar and wind power by the same date.
"China always honours commitments," he said. "We will take solid steps to implement the steps just announced and contribute even more to tackling the climate challenge. Earth is our only and shared home. Let us build on past achievements and work together to implement steady progress in implementing the Paris Agreement."
Today's summit - hosted by the UN alongside the UK, France, Italy and Chile - had been organised as a launch-pad event for nations and businesses to announce enhanced climate pledges as part of the Paris Agreement, and marks exactly five years since the landmark treaty was brokered at COP21.
Xi's latest commitments could therefore prove to be a significant boost for global climate diplomacy during an extremely challenging year for the global economy, during which the crucial CO26 UN climate summit had to be postponed by a year in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.
While arguably not a signalling a huge ramp up in ambition from China, Greenpeace climate and energy campaigner Li Shuo nevertheless described Xi's statement today as "substantive", and "an incremental step forward" in support of the Paris Agreement.
Xi's statement is substantive - if not from an emission point of view, at least geopolitical. The statement is an incremental step forward. It is still not what's needed by science, but towards the right direction. #ClimateAmbitionSummit #ClimateAction
— Li Shuo_Greenpeace (@LiShuo_GP) December 12, 2020
Kicking off the long line of short speeches at the summit earlier, meanwhile, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called on "all leaders worldwide to declare a state of climate emergency in their countries until carbon neutrality is reached".
In a notable ramp up in rhetoric from the UN's top diplomat, Guterres reiterated demands for all countries to raise their climate commitments in support of the Paris Agreement ahead of COP26, as he called for urgent action over the next decade to "stop the assault on our planet".
"If we don't change course, we may be headed for a catastrophic temperature rise of more than three degrees this century," he said. "Can anybody still deny that we are facing a dramatic emergency? That is why today, I call on all leaders worldwide to declare a State of Climate Emergency in their countries until carbon neutrality is reached."
To date, 38 countries around the world have made official climate emergency declarations, he said.
It marks the first time that Guterres, who has over the past two years increasingly dialled-up his rhetoric and demands on climate action, has called on countries to declare climate emergencies in order to drive commitments and actions to combat greenhouse gas emissions.
However, Guterres warned that since the Paris Agreement came into being "we are still not going in the right direction" on decarbonisation, as he criticised Covid-19 stimulus spending from G20 countries on fossil fuels as "unacceptable".
But his speech was also laced with a strong dose of optimism. Guterres argued "we are not doomed to fail" as he highlighted technological advances, growing numbers of ambitious pledges from nations and businesses, and pointed out that "sound economic analysis is our ally".
"Climate action can be the catalyst for millions of new jobs, better health and resilient infrastructure," he said. "But we all need to pass a credibility test: let's make the promise of a net zero world a reality now."
Guterres headed up a speaking line up of 75 world leaders at the virtual summit today, with heads of state and business only invited to speak on condition of having recently raised their climate commitments. The likes of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro were therefore absent from the summit.
However, a raft of other leaders announced climate commitments at the summit today, including French President Emmanuel Macron's promise to stop funding overseas oil project in 2025, and overseas gas projects by 2035. Pakistan PM Imran Khan also promised to halt new investments in coal, in a potentially significant from the country, which has been expanding its coal capacity in recent years.
Immediately following Guterres, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave an idiosyncratic and typically optimistic speech peppered with many of his favoured climate phrases, and sought to emphasise the importance for technology in helping to drive the net zero transition.
It follows the PM's landmark announcement late yesterday that the UK is to stop direct financing of overseas fossil fuel projects, bowing to years of pressure from campaigners who have argued the UK's continued taxpayer funding of oil and gas projects undermines its claims as a global climate leader. Last week he also announced plans to raise the UK's 2030 target to cut emissions by 68 per cent below 1990 levels.
"My message to you all is that together we can use scientific advances to protect our entire planet and biosphere against a challenge far more destructive than coronavirus," Johnson said, as he trumpeted the "promethean power" of humanity to stop global warming.
He once again stated his ambition for the UK to become the "Saudi Arabia of wind power", spoke of the "awesome potential of hydrogen", and highlighted the potential of electric vehicles, carbon capture and storage and nature-based solutions in delivering the net zero transition.
"We are putting our foot to the accelerator, in a climate friendly way of course," Johnson said of hits recently announced Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution.
"We're doing this not because we are hair- shirt-wearing, tree-hugging, mungo bean-munching eco freaks," he added. "Nothing against those things of course, mungo beans are delicious - we're doing it because it will allow us collectively to save our plant, and create millions of jobs as we recovery from Covid."
Johnson stressed that by harnessing science and ingenuity the world could reverse global warming by tackling the "toxic tea cosy of greenhouse gases" at the same time as creating millions of new jobs through a "green industrial revolution".
"Let's do it together," Johnson concluded. "Let's make it our collective commitment to get to net zero by 2050."