China Sets 2035 Emissions Cut Target at UN Climate Summit

China on Wednesday announced its first formal emissions-cut target at the United Nations high-level climate summit, pledging a 7% to 10% reduction by 2035. The move marks a notable step for the world’s largest carbon emitter, which accounts for more than 31% of global CO2 emissions, as more than 100 world leaders gather to discuss stronger action against climate change. President Xi Jinping delivered the pledge via video address, describing it as part of a broader effort to expand wind and solar power, promote pollution-free vehicles, and build a climate-adaptive society.

Xi outlined a plan to raise wind and solar capacity sixfold from 2020 levels and to accelerate the shift toward cleaner transportation, signaling a long-term push to shift the economy toward lower emissions. While Europe also signaled movement on its climate plans, officials cautioned that the EU’s approach remains less formal and still in flux. EU leaders indicated that their targets would fall in the high-60s to low-70s percent reductions by 2030, with the bloc expected to submit its formal plan ahead of the November negotiations at the UN talks.

At the United Nations, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres convened the summit to spur faster action on fossil fuels ahead of the mid-year climate talks in Brazil. After more than six hours of speeches and commitments, roughly 100 nations — responsible for about two-thirds of global emissions — presented plans or pledges to curb coal, oil and natural gas use. UN climate chief Simon Stiell described China’s plan as a clear signal that the future global economy will run on clean energy and that stronger, swifter action can drive growth, affordable energy, cleaner air and better health for people everywhere.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who will host the upcoming climate conference, stressed that no country will escape the impacts of climate change and called on leaders to listen to scientists. He also invited both former U.S. president Donald Trump and Xi to the November negotiations to broaden engagement with science despite political differences.

Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine, speaking at the summit, warned that rising seas threaten her island nation and urged leaders to wake up to the costs of climate inaction. She said it will soon be other countries’ turn to face the same threats if action does not accelerate. Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif described floods that have affected millions across thousands of villages, noting the lingering scars of the 2022 floods and the ongoing calamities from intense monsoon rains, floods, mudslides and urban flooding.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese framed the moment as a decisive decade for climate action, pointing to more frequent cyclones, floods, bushfires and droughts. He urged unity in confronting shared risks as leaders hear from scientists about the stakes. In a science briefing, climate researchers underscored the urgency: Johan Rockström warned that we are near the brink of irreversible change, while Katharine Hayhoe emphasized that even small increments in warming are linked to worsening floods, wildfires, heat waves and other disasters.

Under the Paris Agreement framework, about 195 nations are expected to submit updated five-year plans detailing how they will curb emissions from coal, oil and gas. U.N. officials said plans should be filed by the end of the month so the U.N. can model how much warming remains likely under the pledged actions. The United States submitted its plan late under the previous administration, and the Trump era had distanced itself from the agreement. The world has already warmed roughly 1.3 degrees Celsius since pre-industrial times, while the Paris target aims to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius; current trajectories depend on nations’ follow-through.

Simon Stiell, the U.N. climate chief, called China’s plan a clear signal that the future economy will run on clean energy and noted that stronger action could drive economic growth, affordable energy, cleaner air and improved health for people everywhere. Lula praised China’s announcement, though some advocates remain skeptical, arguing that Beijing should go further and faster. Juan Manuel Santos, former president of Colombia and head of The Elders, said China’s target remains too timid given its energy record and urged stronger commitments across the board.