Xi Jinping announces carbon emissions cuts at the same UN summit where Trump denies global warming

PASCUAL SERRANO

For decades, we've been told that in the West, in democratic and capitalist countries, awareness was growing about the need to reduce carbon emissions in order to save the planet and that measures were being taken. At the same time, we were told that China and its communist system were the main emitter of gases and that its authorities were not taking action to correct them.

Well, on September 24, President Xi Jinping announced at the United Nations Summit that his country was committed to reducing its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by between 7% and 10% by 2035 and promoting renewable energy.

The Chinese leader stated that his country plans to install 3.600 gigawatts of new wind and solar capacity, more than six times the 2020 level.

The Chinese government argued that this is the "first absolute" reduction target that encompasses the entire economy and all greenhouse gases.

"China's determination and actions have made it the most determined, energetic, and effective country in the world in fulfilling its reduction commitments," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun.

The Asian country had pledged to stabilize its CO₂ emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, although it has always emphasized "common but differentiated responsibilities" and called on developed countries to fulfill their commitments.

CO₂ emissions in China fell by 1,6% year-on-year between January and March 2025., despite the fact that electricity demand increased by 2,5% over the same period.

According to the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA). CREA, the growth of the Clean electricity production in China outpaced demand growth for the first time, which allowed for a reduction in the use of fossil fuels and their resulting polluting emissions.

China leads the world in the installation of clean energy. In recent years, it has doubled its solar and wind capacity compared to the rest of the world combined. This massive growth allows it to meet more electricity demand without resorting to fossil fuels. Many of these new installations are located near large industrial centers, also reducing energy transportation losses.

China has aggressively promoted the use of electric vehicles and clean public transportation. Major cities have upgraded their bus and taxi fleets with electric or hybrid models, while millions of electric charging stations have been installed.

Meanwhile, at that same UN summit, the “leader of the free world,” Donald Trump, attacked the institution itself and called climate change a "scam". "East climate change "It is, in my opinion, the biggest scam ever perpetrated against the world," he said. Trump on September 23 at UN Headquarters in New York.

And not only that. En In April, the US president signed executive orders to increase coal production, which will be a severe blow to global efforts to reduce carbon emissions. And the Department of the Interior announcedwill go new policies to boost coal production.

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright recently announced that the planned closure of most of the country's coal-fired power plants will be delayed. In fact, American Energy Alliance President Tom Pyle predicted that 38 coal plants scheduled to close by 2028 would remain open.

Meanwhile, the Chinese Foreign Ministry took the opportunity to indicate that is willing to cooperate with all parties to "promote the international development on climate change and promote the full and effective implementation of the Paris Agreement", of which Trump has withdrawn United States on two occasions, once in his first term and once this year, shortly after his return to the Casa Blanca.

Faced with this diametrically opposed scenario, in the EU the reduction target is subject to the European Council, where each head of state has veto power (Poland or Hungary), so there is no guarantee of anything. Furthermore, some countries advocate achieving emission reductions through the trick of international carbon offsets, that is, buying allowances from impoverished countries whose lack of industrial and consumer development prevents them from emitting more carbon. On the other hand, the ban on the sale of new combustion engines by 2035 "is currently under review”, which translated into normal language means that it will not be fulfilled.

In contrast, in China, some regions such as HainanAs approved a plan in 2022 establishing that From 2030 onwards, new combustion cars will no longer be allowed to be sold in the region.

Since summer of yearor past More than 50% of cars sold in China are already electric or plug-in hybrids.. Instead that year, hybrid and electric car sales in Spain accounted for 11,4% of the total passenger car market. By mid-2025, This percentage has increased to 15,4%.

China is also breaking records on other ecological levels, producing 80% of the solar energy panels installed in the world.

In conclusion, another stereotype about China and the West we must leave behind. China is neither the country insensitive to global environmental challenges we were told, nor is the United States and its Western leadership a model of the way forward.

Pascual Serrano He is a journalist and writer. His last book is "Forbidden to doubt. The ten weeks in which Ukraine changed the world”