CHINA-ENVIRONMENT: XI JINPING'S CLAIM AT UNGA TO MAKE CHINA CARBON FREE BY 2060 RAISES DOUBTS
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Chinese President Xi Jinping's assertion in his speech to the UNGA on September 22, that "We aim to have [carbon dioxide] emissions peak before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060” was questioned in an article in Foreign Policy on September 25 by Adam Tooze who said "Thanks to the gigantic surge in economic growth since 2000 and its reliance on coal-fired electricity generation, China is now by far the largest emitter of carbon dioxide. At about 28 per cent of the global total ... " Saying there are reasons to be sceptical, he said "Xi is not promising an immediate turnaround. The peak will still be expected around 2030. Recent investments in new coal-fired capacity have been alarming. A gigantic 58 gigawatts of coal-fired capacity has been approved or announced just in the first six months of this year. That is equivalent to 25 per cent of America’s entire installed capacity and more than China has projected in the previous two years put together".
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