- China is on track to meet its goal of peaking its emissions of carbon dioxide before 2030.
- More than 70% of participants stated that China will be able to meet the target.
- Beijing is open to joining a new international initiative to triple the capacity of renewable energy sources.
A poll of 89 experts from academia and industry released on Tuesday suggests that China is on track to meet its goal of peaking its emissions of the climate-warming gas carbon dioxide before 2030, though it is unclear how high this peak will be.
In a survey conducted by the Helsinki-based think tank Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), more than 70% of participants stated that China, the world’s largest carbon dioxide emitter, will be able to meet the target, with two stating that its emissions had already peaked.
Carbon emissions peak
According to experts at the Climate Research Association (CREA), China’s peak emissions are predicted to be at least 15% higher than the 2020 level. As new coal-fired power plants are approved by the government to meet the country’s growing energy demand, questions persist about China’s capacity to fulfill its 2030 commitment.
But compared to the previous year, CREA discovered that respondents—64 of whom were based in China—were more upbeat about the nation’s chances of achieving its objective.
Nearly a quarter of the experts surveyed predicted that China’s primary energy consumption would continue to rise even after 2035, despite half of them believing the country would reach its peak before the end of this decade.
At the COP28 climate talks, China’s unwillingness to gradually phase out fossil fuels is predicted to be a major source of contention. Beijing is open to joining a new international initiative to triple the capacity of renewable energy sources.
To achieve notable reductions in absolute power sector emissions this decade, China has committed to expediting the replacement of coal, oil, and gas generation.
