(06 October 2020 – China) China’s President Xi Jinping announced during the United Nations General Assembly that “We aim to have CO2 emissions peak before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060”
As the world’s largest carbon emitter and energy consumer, accounting for 29 percent of global emission in 2018, China’s unknown pathway to carbon neutrality is certain to disrupt the globe’s energy economy. To reach carbon neutrality, China will have to accelerate deployment of existing technologies such as EVs and solar. It will also need to develop and deploy new technologies for carbon-free hydrogen production as well as carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS). And it will need to make its economy much more efficient.
“With both the EU and China now clearly indicating that they intend to achieve zero-emissions economies, the position of countries without such long-term visions, like the US and Australia, becomes increasingly isolated. “If this announcement also implies a shift in its foreign policy, promoting low-carbon instead of fossil technologies, this can further help developing countries to follow a similar low-carbon path towards carbon neutrality,” said Imperial College London Lecturer in Climate Change and the Environment, Joeri Rogelj.