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At the next Glasgow climate summit, the spotlight will be on China, which is the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases. (GES).
The 13-day conference is scheduled to begin on October 31.
Fabien Baussart, writing in a blog post of The time of Israel said that despite the country’s plans to become carbon neutral by 2060, its domestic coal production has nearly tripled since 2001.
If we make a comparison between China on the one hand and the United States and Europe on the other, the amount of coal produced in the United States and Europe has roughly halved during this period. , added Baussart.
China accounted for more than half of the 7.7 billion tonnes of coal produced globally in 2020, eclipsing contributions from the next largest producers (“the world’s largest coal producers”).
As developed countries try to dilute the principle of fairness by pushing developing countries to announce a goal of net zero emissions by 2050.
The real pressure is on China to increase its emission reduction targets ahead of the COPs 26 conference in Glasgow, Baussart said.
China recently released a big statement saying it will not fund overseas coal-fired power plants, but has not spoken of shutting down theirs.
Beijing is the largest source of funding for coal-fired power plants in the world, and Chinese President Xi Jinping’s announcement will have a huge impact on plans to expand coal-fired power plants in countries like Bangladesh, Indonesia, Vietnam and South Africa, reported The time of Israel.
The announcement clearly indicates that existing projects will continue. According to data from the Boston University Global Development Policy Center, more than 20 Chinese-funded coal plants are under construction in South Africa, Pakistan, Indonesia, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, Serbia and the Arab Emirates United. 17 others are in the planning stage.
Additionally, China is a country that will occupy 30% of the carbon budget between 2020 and 2030, Baussart said.
The researchers said China was a long way from phasing out its massive domestic use of coal.
“The Chinese economy is still heavily reliant on coal,†says Ottmar Edenhofer, director of the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change in Berlin. “Stopping funding for coal overseas is an important step, but China is far from completely phasing out coal. “
In addition, China’s most ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) poses a major environmental risk. The European Foundation for South Asian Studies (EFSAS) has reported that BRI causes significant environmental risks.
According to EFSAS, South Asia is among the main regions likely to be severely affected by the negative environmental impact of climate change, reported The time of Israel.
EFSAS said the BRI, which is clearly a development project for industrial growth, has the potential to further intensify environmental degradation.
China’s role is therefore crucial in efforts to combat climate change, as it produces 28% of global emissions, compared to 1% for other countries such as the United Kingdom. China now emits more CO2 than all the rich countries combined, by some estimates, Baussart said.
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