China’s Carbon Catastrophe
In recent times, China has passed all other countries in their CO2 emissions. For example, in 2019, China was responsible for 27% of all greenhouse gases – followed by the USA at 11%, and then India at 6.6%. This shows that China is a major source of pollution, particularly coal power pollution. Experts have said that without cooperation (working with) from the Chinese government, the world will not be able to combat the effects of climate change.
However, the Chinese President, Xi Jinping, will not be attending the COP26 conference in Glasgow.
This decision not to attend the conference has caused public speculation as he has not left China since the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic. Some have said this is because he is afraid of catching the virus, however, it may be that he is afraid of facing up to consequences of China’s impact on global warming.
There will be a Chinese delegation attending the conference, however, the lead negotiator, Xie Zhenhua, has no power without the confirmation of President Jinping. This suggests that there may be very little decisions made on China’s part.
There are some reasons to believe that China is making an effort to decrease their carbon footprint. They have produced more solar power than any other country, for example (though this is still a small number compared to their large population). Furthermore, 5% of cars bought in China are electric, but this is significantly lower than some countries such as Norway and Sweden.
China has also committed to peaking their carbon emissions by 2030 – and being carbon neutral by 2060. The Chinese government believes these aims to be ambitious, but they are far behind the majority of countries who aim to be carbon neutral by around 2050.
The Chinese ambassador to the UK, Zheng Zeguang, wrote for The Guardian about China’s commitment to reducing carbon emissions. After the 18th Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2012, a goal was specifically established to focus on ecological conservation. Because of this, China will not build any more coal-fired power stations overseas. At COP15 in 2009, President Xi Jinping spoke about his goals for harmony between man and nature, sustainable development, social equity and justice, and international governance that works for all nations. China also met its climate target in 2020 ahead of schedule – with renewable energies accounting for 16% of the country’s primary energy consumption.
On November 1st (the first day of COP26 in Glasgow), Xi Jinping released a written statement instead of appearing in person or in video. He especially called for an increase in mutual trust and consensus as well as cooperation between countries in order to ensure the success of COP26. He referenced the Ancient Chinese belief that “successful governance relies on solid action”, calling on governments around the world to work together to make a real difference.
However, some have called this ironic considering China’s incomparable impact on the environment – especially considering their damaging use of coal in energy production. Perhaps the Chinese government should do more in their own country before criticising the nations attending the conference.
By Caitlin Scollin and Cara Scott
Reference:
Image 1: “Opening Plenary with Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China” by World Economic Forum is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Image 2:“BMW i3 electric car” by Janitors is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Image 3: “Shanghai, China” by Sunset Noir is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Edward, D., 2021. Is COP26 doomed to fail without China’s Xi Jinping? | ITV News. [online] ITV News. Available at: <https://www.itv.com/news/2021-11-01/is-cop26-doomed-to-fail-without-chinas-xi-jinping> [Accessed 2 November 2021].
Brown, D., 2021. Why China’s climate policy matters to us all. [online] BBC News. Available at: <https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-57483492> [Accessed 2 November 2021].
Zeguang, Z., 2021. China will honour its climate pledges – look at the changes we have already made | Zheng Zeguang. [online] the Guardian. Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/oct/27/china-climate-pledges-cop26-emissions> [Accessed 2 November 2021].
Nikkei Asia. 2021. Full text of Xi Jinping’s statement at COP26 climate summit. [online] Available at: <https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Environment/Climate-Change/COP26/Full-text-of-Xi-Jinping-s-statement-at-COP26-climate-summit> [Accessed 2 November 2021].
