China Sticks to Goal of Having Carbon Emissions Peak by 2030

China will stick to its goal of having its carbon emissions peak by 2030 and will release more complete reduction plans soon, the country's climate change envoy said Tuesday, even as U.S. and British officials urged it to do more to limit global warming. Envoy Xie Zhenhua said in an online webinar on climate change that China will release updated plans to reduce emissons soon and elaborate on its plans during a U.N. climate change conference in Glasgow, Scotland, later this year.

China has said its carbon emissions should peak by 2030 and then decline, with a goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2060. The country, the world’s largest carbon emitter, has argued that it is still a developing economy and should not be held to the same standards as developed countries in reducing carbon emissions.

World leaders and climate negotiators are to gather in Glasgow in November for the 26th U.N. Climate Change Conference of the Parties summit, where nations will attempt to agree on carbon emission reductions to keep global warming within 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) to prevent catastrophic effects from climate change.

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