Last week, UN climate chief Patricia Espinosa gave a dire warning that the world’s ambition to reduce carbon emissions was still far short of what is needed to avert disaster. “We are collectively wandering into a minefield, blindfolded,” Espinosa said, noting that the combined national climate action plans submitted so far would not even reduce global emissions by 1% by 2030 compared with those in 2010.
- China, the U.S., and India — the top three emitting countries — have not yet submitted their action plans to the UN.
- Last year, Chinese leader Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 made the unexpected announcement that China would aim to peak emissions by 2030 and reach net zero emissions by 2060.
- The details for China’s next few years, however, remain unclear.
China is expected to prioritize “green development” at the “Two Sessions” political gatherings that start in Beijing on March 4 and 5. The other expected top priorities, according to state news agency Xinhua, are “quality” economic development, “dual circulation,” and science and technology innovation.
