China sets carbon cutting targets

• 14 years ago (2009-11-28)
• David Flin

Asia 851 Europe 1061 North America 999

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The Chinese government has unveiled firm targets for curbing its carbon footprint for the first time, and it confirmed that China will be represented by the Prime Minister, Wen Jiabao at the Copenhagen climate talks.

China announced that it would cut emissions of carbon relative to economic growth by 40-45 per cent by 2020 compared with 2005 levels. The State Council was quoted by the Xinhua news agency as saying: “This is a voluntary action taken by the Chinese government based on its own national conditions and is a major contribution to the global effort in tackling climate change.”

Because of its high economic growth rate, China’s emissions will continue to rise rapidly for at least a decade. However, this target does commit China to slowing the speed of emissions growth through the adoption of renewable energy, replacing old power stations with more efficient plants, and possibly through carbon capture and sequestration. It is also thought likely that it will help galvanise moves to introduce a carbon trading scheme and a carbon tax.

Kim Carstensen, leader of WWF International’s global climate initiative, told Reuters: “It is extremely welcome news that China is now putting specific figures on its reductions of carbon intensity towards 2020.”

By setting its first carbon target, China moves its policies more closely into line with international efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, the figure is unlikely to be enough to satisfy western negotiators, who have indicated that anything below 50 per cent would represent a less ambitious target than current efforts to improve energy efficiency. The UK government said that China’s first ever carbon target was an “important opening contribution”, but it said that China, as well as other major developing nations, had made a commitment to make a meaningful deviation from business as usual in order to hold back global warming.

China’s negotiators counter that it is doing far more than wealthy nations at a similar stage of development. However, Xie Zhenhua, China’s most senior climate negotiator, hinted at the possibility of faster steps if the developed nations provided more assistance. He said: “It will be difficult because it is already tough for us to achieve our target. If we receive technical and financial support, we might be able to reach our target at an earlier date.”

European diplomats have expressed disappointment that China would not be represented in Copenhagen by President Hu Jintao, which may weaken China’s negotiating team’s ability to set an emissions reduction strategy. Wen ranks considerably lower than Hu in China’s leadership heirarchy.