{"id":405245,"date":"2025-09-27T11:59:30","date_gmt":"2025-09-27T09:59:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=405245"},"modified":"2025-09-27T11:59:32","modified_gmt":"2025-09-27T09:59:32","slug":"china-promises-tiny-cuts-in-ghg-emissions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=405245","title":{"rendered":"China Promises Tiny Cuts In GHG\u00a0Emissions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Graph<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Paul Homewood<\/p>\n\n\n\n

h\/t Ian Magness<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Close-up<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Xi commits China to its first ever emissions targets, reports the Telegraph, but is his promise worth anything?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

From the Telegraph:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Xi Jinping on Wednesday issued China\u2019s first absolute targets for cutting emissions.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The landmark pledge from the world\u2019s top polluter comes as the US doubles down on fossil fuels and Europe falters in its commitment to meeting targets.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the new plan, the <\/em>Chinese president<\/em><\/a> said his country will reduce economy-wide emissions by 7-10 per cent by 2035 relative to the year of the country\u2019s peak emissions, believed to be 2025.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full story here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whatever Xi promises now can be overturned in the twinkle of an eye when he is replaced as leader. They are not worth the paper they are written on. This is how Chinese politics works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is also worth pointing out that China\u2019s emission targets include land use and forestation changes, which are widely regarded as pretty much worthless and can be easily fudged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The target, for instance, includes an increase in forest stock volume from 6 million to 11 million cubic metres by 2035. And who is going to count of all these cubic metres?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But forests only act as a temporary reduction in emissions \u2013 once grown, CO2 emissions return to normal. In short, there is no long term solution other than reducing what you actually emit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Targets also include non CO2 GHGs, such as methane, nitrous oxide and F-gases. These represent low hanging fruit for China. Together with planting some more forests, which might have grown anyway, China can easily hit its new target without cutting actual CO2 emissions at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But assuming China does hit its target, how much difference will this make. Carbon Brief have the answer:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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https:\/\/www.carbonbrief.org\/qa-what-does-chinas-new-paris-agreement-pledge-mean-for-climate-action\/<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

All it will achieve is to return emissions in 2035 to where they were two or three years ago! Assuming CO2 is also cut by 7%, all it would do is take us back to 2021 levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Q&A: What does China\u2019s new Paris Agreement pledge mean for climate action?<\/a><\/blockquote>