President Xi Jinping declared on Wednesday that China’s commitment to tackling climate change will remain steady regardless of shifts in global political dynamics, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
Xi made the remarks in a speech to a video summit initiated by the United Nations and Brazil to discuss climate change and the “just energy transition,” Xinhua reported.
He said China would update its climate targets before talks in Brazil this November.
“Although some major countries are keen on unilateralism and protectionism, which have led to severe impacts on international rules and international order, history will always advance in twists and turns,” Xi said.
“The more turbulent and chaotic the international situation is, the more solidly must we uphold the international system with the United Nations at its heart,” he added.
No Mention Of The US
Xi did not directly mention the United States, which is locked in a trade war with China and has sought to accelerate fossil fuel production under President Donald Trump.
Brazil will host the COP30 climate change negotiations this year, and is hoping to persuade China, the world’s biggest energy consumer and greenhouse gas producer, to make stronger pledges to cut its emissions.
Countries were supposed to set new 2035 “nationally determined contributions” (NDCs) by February this year, but only a small number have released their plans. Xi said China would announce its new goals before climate talks in Belem in November.
The online meeting of heads of state, starting on Wednesday, is expected to address the climate ambitions of major economies, but China has repeatedly said its goals depend on its own requirements and capabilities.
“Going back to the fundamentals, there will be a gap between what is needed on China’s NDCs and what Beijing is willing to put forward,” said Li Shuo, director of the China Climate Hub at the Asia Society Policy Institute.
(With inputs from Reuters)
