Noel Celis / AFP via Getty Images
Nature hates emptiness, and therefore also made geopolitics. With the United States under Donald Trump which cancels the scene when it comes to attacking global warming, the climate crown is waiting to be claimed – and if the president of China, Xi Jinping, wants it, it is him for the catch.
China’s climate file is mixed. Since 2006, it is the largest greenhouse gas transmitter, because the nation has quickly industrialized. On the other hand, this industrialization has seen it become the world leader in the manufacture of solar panels.
XI himself has also moved from the global climate stage. He did not attend a summit of the COP climate since Paris in 2015, when the countries agreed to hold warming below 1.5 ° C. Although many nations have since interpreted this as needing to reach net zero emissions by 2050, China has only been committed to reaching the neutrality of carbon, a lower promise, by 2060.
But all of this could be about to change. While we relate to page 10, China’s emissions seem to have reached a summit. It also seems that XI plans to make an appearance at COP30 when he stands in Belém, Brazil, in November. The parts are set up for a major climate intervention from China-but what will be?
The parts are set up for a major climate intervention from China-but what will be?
The most likely announcement is an interim target on the path of 2060, perhaps a commitment for certain reductions by 2040. But if Xi wants to be the world climate leader, it should go further, with a net zero commitment by 2050. That it would simply correspond to the existing targets of the industrialization of the United Kingdom should not be the first thing. China adopting the 2050 goal would make others get out of it and could stimulate green technology.
Will he go so far? Probably not. But with information that the COP30 can be a disappointment (see “COP30 Climate Summit already in crisis, with six months to go?”), The Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who did not hide his desire for solid relations with China, would do well to work on the convincing XI. If China must take the crown, Brazil can be the carrier of the crown.
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