BEIJING: China will cut its CO2 emissions per unit of GDP by 60-65% from 2005 level by 2030, aiming to increase non-fossil fuel sources in primary energy consumption to about 20% by the same date. However, China “will work hard” to peak its CO2 emissions before 2030, Prime Minister Li Keqiang revealed.
The commitment comes in the much-awaited Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) that China presented yesterday ahead of the UN climate talks in Paris (COP21), where a global climate deal is expected to be agreed which will come into force by 2025.
“It is very positive to see China publicly stating its goals and signaling its commitment to the climate negotiations process in this way”, says Mark Kenber, CEO of The Climate Group. “It is clear that China’s plan to tackle carbon emissions and build an economy on renewables and clean technology is firmly embedded at the highest level of government. We hope that India, Brazil and others will soon follow and show the required level of ambition".
BUSINESS RESPONSE
Chinese companies are being given an immediate opportunity to respond to the INDC and demonstrate climate leadership by taking part in the roll out of RE100 in China - a global initiative to engage, showcase and support influential companies committed to 100% renewable power.
On Thursday, July 2, RE100 will launch a capacity building program in Beijing, led by The Climate Group in partnership with the Chinese Renewable Energy Industries Association (CREIA), designed to encourage Chinese companies to begin their RE100 journeys and develop strategies for reaching 100% renewable power. Influential businesses from a range of sectors are taking part.
Changhua Wu, Greater China Director, The Climate Group comments: "China’s INDC is a positive boost to the ongoing international climate change process leading to Paris. China’s efforts to align its domestic growth agenda and global climate change agenda is a leading example of how a fundamental shift is needed to grow the economy differently.
“While experimentation in China over the last decade has not been an easy journey, political leadership and determination has set the world’s largest developing economy on track toward a more sustainable future. Securing an ecological civilization requires deeper commitment to a balanced relationship between nature and humans. I applaud China’s efforts and commitments.”
A TWO-FACED COIN
Today China is the world’s biggest polluter, accounting for nearly 11,000 megatons of carbon dioxide equivalent(MtCO2e) in 2012, 25.36% of global emissions – almost double that of the US, which totals 6,200 MtCO2e (14.4% of the total).
China’s pollution is a consequence of rapid economic growth based on coal, which still counts for two-thirds of its energy mix. But declining air quality in the country’s biggest cities has driven climate action from policymakers. Speaking recently at the China's National People's Congress, Premier Li Keqiang defined air pollution as a “blight on people’s quality of life and a trouble that weighs on their hearts.”
Renewed political was kick-started last year with China’s historic announcement to ‘peak’ its greenhouse gas emissions and start cutting pollution by 2030. Now, the INDC is set to accelerate the country’s ongoing transition from an economy based on fossil fuels to a healthier society built on clean energy.China is currently the world’s biggest investor in clean energy, spending a record US$89.5 billion last year to account for almost 29% of the world’s total renewables investment.
This growth is already having an impact, with the National Bureau of Statistics of China reporting that in 2014 coal consumption fell 2.9% even while its total energy consumption grew, thanks to a 16.9% share from clean energy including wind and hydro.
The INDC however, pushes China’s clean energy and emissions reduction aspirations even further, calling for all countries to collaborate for the common goal. China has also proposed a guarantee mechanism to assess those INDCs and continuously enhance the effort for a cleaner, better world.
COMMON BUT DIFFERENTIATED
China hasn’t always been the world’s biggest emitter. From the beginning of the Industrial Era, the US emitted four times more CO2 than China on a cumulative basis.
For this reason, during climate negotiations China has always been a fierce advocate of the “common but differentiated responsibilities”, a principle agreed in the Kyoto protocol in 1997 which calls for developed countries to take on more ambitious and quantified commitments than developing countries.
Today though, this issue is controversial because China’s unprecedented economic expansion pushes it out of the ‘developing country’ list. If we consider emissions from 1990 to today, China has almost caught up with the US total.
COLLABORATIVE SPIRIT
INDCs submitted so far represent a wide range of ambition, but experts believe bolder targets are needed across the board. The International Energy Agency has already warned that INDCs submitted “will have a positive impact on future energy trends, but fall short of the major course correction required to meet the 2 Celsius degrees goal.”
In order to achieve its own set INDC targets, China needs to invest 41 trillion RMB (US$6.6 trillion). As Mark Kenber pointed out in a recent blog, even though COP21 in Paris is “the great business opportunity of this century,” at the same time: “it will not be the end. The climate change agenda post Paris will live on, and important work will still need to be done until the deal set in Paris comes into force in 2020.”