As international leaders gathered virtually for this year’s United Nations General Assembly, Climate Week NYC is taking place alongside to spur discussions on climate change and showcase climate actions. On Tuesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping made a surprising announcement that China would peak its carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and reach carbon neutrality by 2060. This is the first time Chinese leadership has committed to cutting emissions to net-zero. Interestingly, on the night before Tuesday’s Assembly, Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI) invited Minister Xie Zhenhua, China’s Special Advisor for Climate Change Affairs and the previous Vice-Chairman of the NDRC, to speak on Chinese’s climate action and its implementation of the Paris Agreement. During the discussion, Minister Xie indicated that “China is going to launch a very powerful low-carbon development target.” Although the link is not crystal clear, I believe the signal Minister Xie sent out at ASPI could be referring to the target released by President Xi at the UN General Assembly. The valuable information that Minister Xie delivered at ASPI regarding China’s past and future climate efforts is worthy of discussion to estimate China’s roadmap towards the net-zero goal.
My main takeaways from Minister Xie’s speech can be summarized into four terms: green recovery, multilateralism, Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and energy sector transformation. 2020 has been full of challenges, with the COVID crisis, economic downturn, and climate impact striking the world in a very short period. All countries, regardless of developed or developing, found themselves in difficult positions to contain the virus and reboot their economies. Minister Xie argues that “Chinese practices on addressing climate change have proved that it will foster and bring up new industries that will ultimately improve employment and people’s quality of life. Only the pathway that is line with tackling various challenges and pursuing sustainable development can China turn crisis into opportunities to assist different countries in walking out of poverty and realizing the Paris Agreement.” Under the context that China’s President Xi Jinping just met with European leaders to discuss green partnerships and jointly uphold multilateralism and Paris Agreement, Minister Xie’s speech has further confirmed my understanding that China is striving to play a key role in global climate action.
In addition to green recovery and multilateralism, Minister Xie also addressed several questions that the international climate community is interested in: the coal-fired power plants and the implementation of NDC. He said that “China is developing policies so that coal and coal-fired generation will be under control. These policies are trying to guide finance to support green development, including renewable energy, gas, safe nuclear power, and hydrogen for electrification.” He stressed that the mission wouldn’t succeed on its own without intensifying the integration of technology and energy to improve the digital and smart transition of the energy system. The roll-out of national emission trading scheme will also accelerate the transition and China is working with multiple institutes to improve that scheme. During the one-hour webcast, Minister Xie emphasized that China is making every effort to meet its NDC targets, and he hopes the international community will trust China.
As a student who cares much about international climate action, I see Minister Xie’s speech and President Xi’s pledge as very encouraging. I hope the policies will be put in place and advanced in the near future. If so, China’s climate pledge could act as a catalyst for other countries to join the net-zero club.
