Germany says reducing China’s emissions is crucial to global goals

The pace at which China cuts its greenhouse gas emissions will be key to achieving global climate change targets, Germany’s climate chief said.

“What China decides to do in the NDC is probably the most important thing to keep this 1.5 degree target in sight,” Jennifer Morgan, Germany’s secretary of state and special envoy for international climate action, said in a statement. by Bloomberg.

Germany recently established a Climate and Transformation Dialogue with China to work on ways to speed up the energy transition to keep the 1.5 degree target within reach.

In June, ahead of a visit to Japan and China, Germany’s climate envoy said that “China’s contribution will be decisive in our efforts to achieve the Paris climate goals and prevent the worst climate damage from occurring.”

China is a global leader in renewable energy investment and capacity installations. But it is also the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases and continues to approve coal-fired power generation to meet growing electricity demand without compromising energy security.

Last year, China invested $676 billion in its energy transition, authorities said in August.

Since 2013, China has been responsible for more than 40% of annual additions to global renewable energy capacity. Last year, China’s newly installed renewable energy capacity accounted for more than half of the world’s total, the government said.

China, however, has not yet peaked in carbon dioxide emissions because it is a developing nation and has a massive population. The message came last month from the country’s National Energy Administration in response to speculation that China had reached a peak in emissions ahead of the deadline.

“We should not forget that China is still a developing country pursuing modernization for a huge population,” NEA head of law and institutional reform Song Wen said in late August.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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