The world's largest polluter China reveals a plan to cut emissions that falls 'well short' of UN targets – despite Beijing pumping out a quarter of carbon into atmosphere
China has promised to peak its carbon pollution before 2030 in a new plan which experts say is still not enough to prevent climate catastrophe.
Analysts say the proposal by the world's largest polluter will not help in preventing temperatures rising by more than 1.5°C (2.7°F) this century, a target set by nations including China as part of the Paris climate agreement in 2015.
In a new emissions cutting plan submitted to the United Nations days before the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, the CCP said it would peak its carbon emissions before 2030 and become carbon neutral by 2060.
The Chinese government also pledged to slash its emissions intensity - the amount of emissions per unit of economic output - by more than 65 per cent despite other nations urging Beijing to go further. China is the biggest emitter of CO2 in the world and accounts for 25 per cent of total global output.
Boris Johnson urged Beijing to 'step up' China's ambitions on tackling climate change following the submission which came hours before President Xi Jinping said today he would attend the climate change summit in person but via video link.
China's President Xi Jinping will not be attending the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow and is facing calls for a faster decarbonisation of his country - the world's biggest polluter
Current commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions put Earth on track for a 2.7°C (4.8°F) temperature rise this century, a stark United Nations report warned today this week (stock image)
A Downing Street summary of the phone call with President Xi said Mr Johnson had 'acknowledged' China's plans to tackle climate change.
A Number 10 spokesman added: 'He emphasised the importance of all countries stepping up their ambition on climate change at COP26 and taking concrete action to cut emissions and expedite the transition to renewable energy, including phasing out coal.'
Downing Street also said the leaders 'recognised that there were areas of disagreement and difficulty in the bilateral relationship' between the two countries.
Mr Johnson 'raised the United Kingdom’s concerns about the erosion of democracy in Hong Kong and human rights in Xinjiang' but the pair also 'agreed to cooperate on areas of shared interest'.
The phone call came after George Eustice warned it will be 'difficult to get progress' at the crunch summit amid growing fears the gathering of world leaders will fail to deliver a major breakthrough.
The Environment Secretary said he is 'nervous' about whether the summit will 'get things over the line' when it starts on Sunday. China's submission has dampened hopes of a major breakthrough.
While China industrialised decades later than western nations, its growth in recent years - largely fuelled by coal - has been so ferocious that it has eclipsed almost all other nations. It is now the world's largest emitter by a wide margin (above)
Lauri Myllyvirta, lead analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, said that while the plan formalised targets set at the Paris summit in 2015, it had little detail on how emissions would change this decade.
Li Shuo, an analyst with Greenpeace Asia, said China's proposal 'missed an opportunity to demonstrate ambition'. Mr Shuo added that China's effort 'cast a shadow' on the global effort to combat climate change.
Under the Paris Agreement's 'ratchet' mechanism, signatories agreed to submit new and more ambitious emissions cutting plans - known as Nationally Determined Contributions, or NDCs - every five years.
Nick Mabey, chief executive of the E3G environmental think tank, said China's new emissions plan was virtually 'unchanged' from previous promises.
'This lowers other countries' confidence in the delivery of China's deep decarbonisation pathway,' he said.
The UN says greenhouse gas emissions need to be cut nearly in half by 2030 to keep 1.5°C (2.7°F) within reach.
This week it said countries' latest pledges put Earth on course to warm 2.7C this century. Its Emissions Gap report also called on countries to start slashing emissions immediately and to align their net-zero plans with the 1.5C pathway.
Despite its relatively late industrialisation, China is still the world's second-largest emitter of carbon since 1850, rebutting its insistence that climate change is due to historical emissions by Western nations
The main aim of the summit, which will run from October 31 to November 12, is to persuade countries to agree to take action to restrict global warming to nothing more than 1.5 degrees.
Mr Johnson previously hailed COP26 as a major moment, saying in September that 'this is the most important period I think now in the history of the planet - because COP simply must succeed'.
However, expectations appear to have now been dampened, with the Prime Minister saying earlier this week that it will be 'touch and go' on whether progress will be made.
Mr Eustice told Sky News that it is always difficult to agree big changes at large-scale events attended by many nations.
He said: 'These events, because they are big, multi-lateral events with many countries, it is often difficult to get progress.
'We have been working incredibly hard though on our agenda which is getting more countries to commit to net zero by the middle of the century, getting commitments on decarbonising transport, particularly electrification of cars.
'And in my case working quite hard on a package around forests, mobilising finance and getting agreement on reducing and halting the net loss of forests around the world.
'So I am optimistic about these agendas. But always, obviously, when we are in the final days in the build up to it you do get nervous about whether you will get things over the line, certain agreements over the line.
'There is more to be done at the actual summit itself. I am optimistic but it is, as the Prime Minister said, touch and go.
Mr Johnson said on Monday that he was 'worried' the COP26 summit could end in failure.
The Prime Minister said a deal between world leaders on reducing harmful emissions 'can be done' but it is going to be 'very, very tough'.
Mr Johnson said he is concerned the UN summit could 'go wrong' and it will be 'touch and go' whether an agreement can be hammered out.
The UK has set out a plan to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 and is urging other countries to follow suit.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday that he was 'worried' the COP26 summit could end in failure
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