Why China's Climate Policy Matters To Us All

China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries.

Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change.

China's President Xi Jinping has said his country will aim for its emissions to reach their highest point before 2030 and for carbon neutrality to be achieved by 2060.

President Xi has not said how China will achieve this extremely ambitious goal.

China's per-person emissions are about half those of the US, but its huge 1.4 billion population and explosive economic growth have pushed it way ahead of any other country in its overall emissions.

China became the world's largest emitter of carbon dioxide in 2006 and is now responsible for more than a quarter of the world's overall greenhouse gas emissions.

Getting China's emissions down is achievable, according to many experts, but will require a radical shift.

Coal has been the country's main source of energy for decades, and its use is increasing.



President Xi says China will "phase down" coal use from 2026, but the announcement was criticised by some governments and campaigners for not going far enough.

Researchers at Tsinghua University in Beijing say China will need to stop using coal entirely for generating electricity by 2050, to be replaced by nuclear and renewable energy production.

But far from shutting down coal-fired power stations, China is currently building new ones at more than 60 locations across the country, with many sites having more than one plant.



New stations are usually active for 30 to 40 years, so China will need to reduce the capacity of newer plants as well as close old ones if it is to bring emissions down, says researcher Philippe Ciais of the Institute of Environment and Climate Science in Paris.

It may be possible to retrofit some to capture emissions, but the technology to do so at scale is still developing, and many plants will have to be written off after minimal use.

China argues it has a right to do what Western countries have done in the past, releasing carbon dioxide in the process of developing its economy and reducing poverty.

It has also financed coal-fired power stations outside China through its Belt and Road initiative though it does now appear to be scaling back new investments.

More at the link ... https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-57483492

Well, there's 15-20 minutes I'll never get back.