The Country with the Largest Population on the Planet Vows to Be Carbon Neutral by 2060

In front of the UN Assembly, the President of China Xi Jinping vowed to adopt more vigorous policies and measures in order for his country to hit its greenhouse gas emissions peak during the next decade and to reach carbon neutrality by 2060.

“Xi’s commitment to achieve carbon neutrality before 2060 is a game changer,” says Thom Woodroofe, a former climate diplomat and senior adviser at the Asia Society. “For the first time ever there is now a clear long-term trajectory for decarbonisation in China,” the world’s biggest polluter.

Two out of the three biggest emitters – China and the EU – are putting forward new plans and vow to take strong actions at Cop26, the UN climate summit, which will take place in November of 2021. “With China and the EU both setting stronger targets, the picture for how the world can meet the long-term goals of the Paris agreement just got much clearer,” says Richard Baron, the executive director of the 2050 Pathways Platform, an NGO.