00:00Now, Belinda Schaper is a China policy analyst with the think tank, the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air.
00:07Hello, Belinda. How significant is it that China's president has stood up at the UN
00:12and for the first time committed the country to reducing emissions by between 7% and 10% in 10 years?
00:21Yeah, thank you. The fact that President Xi Jinping delivered China's new climate targets personally
00:27sends a signal that there is high-level commitment to tackling global climate change
00:33against the backlash that we're seeing in other countries.
00:37For the first time, China announced total emission reduction targets covering all greenhouse gases in all sectors.
00:44However, unfortunately, as the targets stand today, they are not compatible with the Paris Agreement just yet.
00:52But the good news is that China is very much capable to achieve much more.
00:56Our analysis suggests that, in fact, 30% of emission reductions by 2035 are certainly possible.
01:05Yeah, so there is criticism that China perhaps could have gone further.
01:09What's your sense? Do you think they should have pushed it at this point?
01:14We are at a moment where there's a lot of doubts around the global climate agenda.
01:19So it's certainly a moment for China to show up leadership.
01:23I think the targets that we got today are on the conservative end.
01:27And as you mentioned, China in the past has over-delivered the promises.
01:32So I think that is what we are expecting and hoping for this time around as well,
01:36that China is really going to put everything, all the weight it has,
01:40into accelerating a domestic transition much faster to achieve emission reductions much faster than it set out today.
01:48So I think, in the end, the proof will be in the pudding of the emission reductions and the clean energy transition
01:54that we will see over the next decade happening in China and around the world.
01:59China's been working closely with the European Union on climate.
02:03Given that the U.S. government is calling climate change a con,
02:07how crucial is this partnership between Beijing and Brussels?
02:10Yes, China and Europe have sent a strong signal in their joint climate commitment
02:16that they are willing to put aside bilateral disagreements to join hands
02:21and work together on tackling climate change.
02:24President Xi has also said in his announcement yesterday
02:27that the global community should continue on the right track
02:33in this trend of our time of the green transition.
02:36So for the EU and China to jointly advance this transition is really crucial.
02:41And I think there are a number of areas where they can work together,
02:45both in terms of leading through their domestic ambition and implementation,
02:50but also by managing some of the trade tensions that we are seeing on clean technologies
02:56and stepping up their investment in emerging and developing economies
03:01to help them transition their economies and help them protect themselves against climate impacts.
03:07Thank you so much, Belinda Schaper, China Policy Analyst
03:10with the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air.
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