China’s new emissions reduction target, announced at a high-level climate summit at the United Nations in New York, has been judged by experts as “timid” and falling short of the effort needed to meet global climate goals, even though it represents an increase in the country’s climate ambition.
The Asian economic powerhouse promised to aim for a 7-10% cut in its greenhouse gas emissions by 2035 compared to “peak” levels, without specifying which year that would be. Experts said that pledge is not enough to align with the Paris Agreement target of limiting global warming to 1.5C.
In a video message to the summit, China’s President Xi Jinping told world leaders that the “green and low-carbon transition is the trend of our time”, despite “some countries acting against it”.
“China will by 2035 reduce economy-wide net greenhouse gas emissions by 7-10% from peak levels, striving to do better,” the Chinese leader announced at the Climate Summit 2025 convened by the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York.
The world’s largest carbon polluter, China is responsible for about a third of global emissions. As countries delivered new climate plans at the summit, China’s new nationally determined contribution (NDC) has been one of the most anticipated and is viewed an indicator of global climate ambition.
-
Fact-checked: Trump’s UN tirade against renewables, climate deals and environmentalists
The US president’s outspoken speech was littered with a string of misleading or false statements – many about efforts to fight climate change -
At climate summit, UN chief urges countries to go “much further, much faster” on NDCs
With about 120 leaders speaking in New York, the pressure is on for stronger climate action plans to rein in global warming, with the world off track to meet Paris Agreement goals -
Brazil pledges $1bn in first contribution to COP30 rainforest fund
Brazil, which will launch the new investment-driven fund for forest protection at the Belém climate summit, calls on other governments to put in seed capital
Target falls short of Paris Agreement alignment
The Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) warned that only emissions cuts of around 30% by 2035 by China would be consistent with the 1.5C limit.
A range, such as the one delivered by Xi at the New York summit, could be interpreted as “the lower bound is effectively the guarantee, while the upper bound represents potential ambition”.
The baseline year for the target – a key measure for how ambitious it is – was not clarified in Xi’s announcement. The country will take as reference the “peak” in its emissions, with some experts saying that could occur as early as last year or this year.
China’s rapid renewable energy rollout has kept the country on track to meet its existing goal of peaking carbon pollution before the end of the decade. It plans to reach net zero by 2060.
The Chinese president also announced a target to “increase the share of non-fossil fuels in total energy consumption to over 30%”, and “expand the installed capacity of wind and solar power to over six times the 2020 levels, striving to bring the total to 3,600 GW”.
He also pledged to “scale up the total forest stock volume to over 24 billion cubic metres”, make EVs the “mainstream in the sale of new vehicles”, and expand its emissions trading market to cover “major emitting sectors”.
Since 2020, China has also pledged to reduce CO2 emissions per unit of GDP – a measure known as carbon intensity – by more than 65% below 2005 levels by 2030. This target was not mentioned in Xi’s announcement.
Dave Jones, chief analyst with energy think-tank Ember, said the new NDC underscored the progress made by China over the last few years with its energy transition, showing that “a sustained decline in its fossil fuel use is now well within sight” and China would continue to install solar and wind “at mega-scale”.
Emissions target “too timid”
Other observers said China’s new mitigation target for 2035 fell short of what they country can deliver, arguing it is not representative of the country’s climate actions on the ground.
Yao Zhe, Beijing-based global policy advisor for Greenpeace East Asia, said that “even for those with tempered expectations, what’s presented today still falls short. This 2035 target offers little assurance to keep our planet safe.”
Still, Zhe added that China is expected to exceed its target on paper, in line with its tradition for under-promising and over-delivering. “Ultimately, actions do speak louder than words. But strong and consistent policy signals are an irreplaceable catalyst,” she said.
COP30 PR firm found to be “uniquely reliant” on fossil fuel clients
Juan Manuel Santos, former president of Colombia and chair of The Elders group, said China’s new target “is too timid given the country’s extraordinary record on clean energy – both at home and through its green partnerships with emerging economies”.
In the past, the country delivered on its target to install 1,200 gigawatts (GW) of wind and solar energy ahead of the government’s schedule.
Bernice Lee, distinguished fellow at Chatham House, said the new target “simply isn’t representative of the pace of the energy transition in the country” adding that other countries will “read the writing on the wall” and recognise China’s climate commitment to clean energy outside of its NDC.
China’s climate leadership “critical”
Experts have said that strong leadership from China and the European Union is critical ahead of the COP30 climate summit, as the Trump administration has pulled back from the US’s international climate commitments.
In a major milestone this year, China’s emissions fell for the first time in the 12 months to May, despite continued growth in energy demand. Previous declines in emissions had only taken place during the COVID-19 pandemic, when strong social restrictions slowed down economic growth.
The country’s much-criticised coal sector has kept growing to power its energy-hungry industry. Still, as transport, buildings and industry electrify fast, China’s energy-related fossil fuel consumption is expected to fall soon, according to Ember.
Given the country’s massive energy footprint, this would create the conditions for a global decline in fossil fuel demand, it argues.
The post China unveils underwhelming emissions-cutting target for 2035 appeared first on Climate Home News.
China unveils underwhelming emissions-cutting target for 2035
Three countries have been named by the Paris Agreement’s compliance committee for failing to submit a nationally determined contribution (NDC) and repeatedly snubbing offers of help with their climate plans.
After months of internal debate over whether to identify serial non-responders, the Paris Agreement’s Implementation and Compliance Committee (PAICC) named the three countries which have failed to engage with it over their NDCs on Friday.
It named Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal and North Korea in a footnote of its annual report, adding that it decided to name them “with a view to facilitating engagement”, adding that representatives of the three nations had been invited to its meeting in early 2027 “with the purpose of identifying any challenges and constraints”.
“The Committee noted the importance of Parties engaging with the Committee in a timely manner, while noting that some delays may be due to the national capabilities and circumstances of the Parties”, the report said.
-
Under US pressure, World Bank says it will back gas “where appropriate”
The US wants the World Bank to expand its gas support while climate campaigners are pushing for it to end – its head spoke this week of limited backing for the fossil fuel -
IPCC scientists vow to press on with climate reports despite political deadlock
After governments again failed to agree a timeline, nearly 120 IPCC authors pledged to complete their assessment on time and with full scientific rigour -
Paris Agreement committee snubbed over missing NDC climate plans
Many governments have still not submitted a nationally determined contribution to the UN, breaching a key requirement of the Paris Agreement
In July, PAICC said 12 countries had ignored its repeated attempts to discuss why they had not published an NDC as required every five years under the 2015 Paris accord.
Members of the committee had been divided over whether to name them, but at a September meeting decided to do so in their annual report to the annual climate COP summit.
By the time the report was published on Friday, only Congo, Senegal and North Korea “had not communicated an NDC or submitted a [Biennial Transparency Report] and had not yet responded to any of the Committee’s notifications, despite several reminders issued by the Committee in this regard”.
Rainforest and renewable energy ambitions
The silence from Congo and Senegal is notable because the former is home to much of the Congo Basin rainforest while the latter has sought billions of dollars in climate finance to support its renewable energy ambitions.
After Brazil, Congo has more rainforest than any country in the world. This forest, and the country’s peatlands, absorb huge amounts of greenhouse gas but are fast being lost to expanding farmland, charcoal production, logging and mining.
Senegal signed a Just Energy Transition Partnership with Canada and wealthy European nations in 2023, to help it meet its renewable energy targets under the-then government of Macky Sall. It was chair of the Least Developed Countries group between January 2022 and December 2023.
Tejas Rao, who is researching the PAICC as part of a doctoral thesis at Cambridge University, said the governments of the three countries should engage with the committee.
“Engagement costs these governments very little and the committee has shown it will listen,” he said.
“Silence leaves the committee with no basis to help, and it leaves the [governments] exposed to the narrative that they are simply disengaged,” he told Climate Home News.
Paris Agreement requirement
The 2015 Paris Agreement requires all parties to publish an NDC every five years outlining their emissions reduction targets, with each plan meant to be more ambitious than the country’s last NDC.
The latest set – the third round of plans, with new targets for 2035 – was due in February 2025. While most countries missed this deadline, all but around 30 – mostly small emitters but including Egypt, Vietnam and Argentina – have now submitted them.
Over the year, the PAICC – which is made up of government climate officials from developed and developing countries – has been communicating with governments that have not submitted NDCs and trying to overcome barriers to them doing so.
Some nations have cited exceptional circumstances as the reason for not submitting an NDC, a process that requires a significant amount of work in tracking emissions and consulting on how to curb them across the economy. For example, a letter from a Sudanese official to the PAICC, seen by Climate Home News, said that the country’s civil war had led to the suspension of its NDC preparation.
-
IPCC scientists vow to press on with climate reports despite political deadlock
After governments again failed to agree a timeline, nearly 120 IPCC authors pledged to complete their assessment on time and with full scientific rigour -
Under US pressure, World Bank says it will back gas “where appropriate”
The US wants the World Bank to expand its gas support while climate campaigners are pushing for it to end – its head spoke this week of limited backing for the fossil fuel -
Who shapes climate science? The equity question facing the IPCC
Early completion of the next global climate science assessment reports risks excluding research from the Global South, which is key to ensuring the findings are fair
The US and Iran are not signed up to the Paris Agreement and so do not have active NDCs, nor does Taiwan, which is not a UN member state.
Rao said that because the PAICC is “facilitative and non-punitive”, naming the countries “is meant to open a door, not close one – the invited consultation is the point”.
“In recent months, governments that explained their constraints, whether capacity, finance or domestic process, have been met with follow-up and support rather than sanction, and the number of silent governments has fallen sharply,” Rao said.
The post Paris Agreement committee names three countries snubbing it over NDCs appeared first on Climate Home News.
Paris Agreement committee names three countries snubbing it over NDCs