CHINA set absolute emissions targets at the United Nations (UN) Climate Summit attended by more than 100 world leaders.
The leaders gathered to talk about the need for increased urgency and stronger efforts to curb the spewing of heat-trapping gases to combat climate change.
The announcement by China comes at a time when the United States (US) is rolling back on its commitments towards climate change.
During his address to the UN General Assembly, US President Donald Trump dubbed climate change and the science behind it a “con job”.
On June 1, 2017, during his first term in office, Trump announced that the US will cease all participation in the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change mitigation, arguing that the agreement will “undermine” the US economy and put the US “at a permanent disadvantage”.
In February 2025, he signed an executive order withdrawing the number one most developed economy from the Paris Agreement.
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The UN has previously said climate change might pose the biggest threat to humanity, something akin to an existential challenge.
While developed nations, which account for much of the pollution, and have the resources to intensify the fight against climate change, have been reluctant to meet their financial commitments towards climate change mitigation, developing countries suffer severe burdens of hash climate impacts.
Scientists are agreed that climate change poses serious risks to vulnerable ecosystems leading to shrinking forests and vegetation cover.
A range of climate change impacts such unpredictable rainfall patterns, desertification and droughts with a cumulative effect in reduced crop yields and disrupted livestock production have become a major source of food insecurity especially in Africa.
Developing countries in general, and Africa in particular, face some of the most severe consequences of climate change, despite contributing minimally to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Rising temperatures are leading to more frequent and intense droughts, unpredictable rainfall, increased flooding and desertification, which threaten food security, water resources, the livelihoods and health of their populations.
These impacts exacerbate existing vulnerabilities such as poverty, lack of employment, inadequate access to healthcare, education and access to food, disproportionately affecting populations dependent on rain-fed agriculture, which is the mainstay of their local, national and contribution to the global economy through trade.
The intersection of destabilising conflict and adverse climate change impacts fuel interlinked local and international conflicts, including terrorism in some regions.
UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres told leaders at the summit to focus on specific plans to curb emissions from coal, oil and natural gas.
He said countries were running out of time to submit their new climate plans of the major international climate negotiations to be held during the gathering of global leaders at COP30 in Brazil in November.
He further stated that: “The science (of climate change) demands action. The law commands it. The economics compel it. And people are calling for it.”
Guterres urged global leaders to come up with climate action plans that are fully aligned with the 1,5 degrees Celsius cap stipulated under the Paris Agreement, covering the whole of their economies and their GHG emissions.
He reminded global leaders of the need to make drastic reduction of emissions in the next few years to keep the 1,5 degrees Celsius limit alive.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva pointed out that no one is safe from the effects of climate change, highlighting the fact that droughts and storms do not respect territorial borders or military mighty.
China, the second largest economy in the world, announced absolute targets to cut its emissions, demonstrating much needed serious leadership among world leaders.
President Xi Jinping told fellow world leaders via a video statement that China will reduce its GHG emissions across the economy by 7%-10% by 2035, adding that the country would “strive to do better” in its contributions towards combating climate change.
He pledged that China will increase its wind and solar power six-fold from 2020 levels, make pollution-free vehicles mainstream and “basically establish a climate adaptive society”.
The new commitments significantly cover all GHGs, not just carbon dioxide and will be measured “from peak levels” of emissions.
Xi also said the new climate measures would be intensified through the expansion of wind and solar power capacities to more than six times the 2020 levels.
In addition, China will increase its forest stocks to more than 24 billion cubic metres, while ratchetting its efforts towards the production of “new energy vehicles”, a game-changer in reducing carbon pollution.
While the pledge marks the first time that China has set actual emission reduction targets, the targets represent China’s best efforts based on the requirements of the Paris agreement.
The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty adopted in 2015 at a UN climate conference.
The agreement aims to combat climate change by limiting global warming to well below 2°C, preferably to 1,5°C, above pre-industrial levels.
It requires all countries to set their own emission reduction targets, known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and to strengthen them over time through a five-year cycle.
The agreement also mandates provisions for adaptation to climate impacts and financial support for developing countries to help them to transition to sustainable, low-emission economies.
Some observers have pointed out that the Chinese targets maybe inadequate.
However, China has a track record of surpassing many of its international climate commitments in terms of realising its deliverables.
Following its pledge to reach a capacity of 1 200 gigawatts for wind and solar power by 2030, China has since smashed through that goal in 2024 — six years earlier.
China is by far the leading producer of solar and renewable energy technologies.
Its rapid clean tech growth could, therefore, propel the country much further over the coming decades, setting Beijing ahead of any other economic giant in its contribution towards climate mitigation.
In 2021, Xi announced that China aimed to peak its emissions during this decade to reach “carbon neutrality” by 2060.
China’s role in combating climate change involves national policy integration, setting ambitious goals like carbon neutrality by 2060 and reducing emissions by 7%-10% below peak by 2035.
China has also implemented vast renewable energy projects, significantly expanded its forest cover and is accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles.
Beijing has invested heavily in clean energy under the Belt and Road Initiative, working with other countries to help them realise their commitments towards the realisation of the goals of the Paris Agreement.
During the commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the Paris Agreement on July 24, 2025, China and the EU issued a joint Press statement saying the two sides agreed to demonstrate leadership together to drive a global just transition in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication.
The 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement coincided with the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the European Union (EU).
Such co-operation will render more impetus into internationally co-ordinated initiatives towards climate mitigation.
The China-EU statement reaffirmed shared commitment to strengthen China-EU co-operation on climate change to promote the well-being of the peoples on both sides, uphold multi-lateralism and advance global climate governance.
It reaffirmed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement as the cornerstones of international climate co-operation, committing both sides to their comprehensive and effective implementation.
Indeed, the US maybe retreating, but China is playing a major role as the adult in the room to ensure global climate mitigation is kept alive.