Beijing pledges a 7–10% emissions cut by 2035 and massive renewable energy expansion, while calling on developed nations to lead by example.
China, the world’s biggest carbon polluter, has unveiled a new climate target, pledging to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 7–10 percent by 2035. President Xi Jinping made the announcement on Wednesday in a video address to a high-level United Nations climate summit, positioning Beijing as a global player in the fight against climate change.
Beyond the headline goal, Xi outlined a sweeping set of commitments aimed at reshaping China’s energy and industrial landscape. Over the next decade, China plans to increase its installed capacity of wind and solar power to more than six times the levels it had in 2020. It will also boost the share of non-fossil fuels in domestic energy consumption to more than 30 percent, a significant step for a country still heavily reliant on coal. Xi also pledged that “pollution-free vehicles” would become mainstream and that China would “basically establish a climate-adaptive society.”
Currently, China accounts for more than 31 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions, making its trajectory central to whether the world can avoid catastrophic climate warming.
At the summit, Xi emphasized the importance of international cooperation and urged developed nations to take the lead in emissions cuts and climate financing. Without naming the United States, he criticized countries that have backtracked from the Paris Agreement’s objectives, saying:
“Green and low-carbon transformation is the trend of our times. Despite some countries going against the trend, the international community should stay on the right track, maintain unwavering confidence, unwavering action, and undiminished efforts.”
Xi’s remarks came a day after U.S. President Donald Trump used his address to the UN General Assembly to dismiss climate change as a “con job,” while attacking both China and European states for pursuing renewable energy. Trump has formally ordered Washington’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement for the second time, a move that undermines global efforts to cap temperature rises. The U.S., historically the largest greenhouse gas emitter, is currently the world’s second-biggest polluter after China.
European leaders responded by defending their climate strategies. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen highlighted that Europe’s emissions have fallen nearly 40 percent since 1990, thanks to investments in renewable energy, stricter regulations, and carbon pricing.
Other leaders also warned of the mounting dangers of climate inaction. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who is preparing to host the upcoming COP climate conference, stressed that “no one is safe from the effect of climate change.” He added: “Walls at borders will not stop droughts or storms. Nature does not bow down to bombs or warships. No country stands above another.”
UN Secretary-General António Guterres echoed the urgency, declaring: “The science demands action. The law commands it. The economics compel it. And people are calling for it.”
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif gave a sobering account of the devastation wrought by climate-linked disasters. He reminded delegates that his country is still recovering from the historic 2022 floods, which displaced millions and caused damages exceeding $30 billion. “As I speak to you, my country is reeling from intense monsoon rains, flash floods, mudslides, and devastating urban flooding,” Sharif said.
Under the 2015 Paris climate accord, 195 nations are expected to submit updated, more ambitious five-year climate plans. UN officials have urged countries to deliver these commitments by the end of the month, so the organization can assess the world’s trajectory.
The Paris Agreement aims to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, with an aspirational target of 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels. Current pledges, if fully implemented, would put the planet on track for about 2.6 degrees of warming, according to Guterres. The Earth has already warmed approximately 1.3 degrees, edging dangerously close to the 1.5-degree threshold.
While China’s new pledge marks a step forward, experts note that far deeper cuts will be required worldwide to avert climate catastrophe. For now, Beijing’s announcement signals that even as major powers clash politically, the battle over climate change remains at the heart of global diplomacy.
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