China Promises to Provide US$3 Billion Climate Change Finance
Xi Jinping, the president of China, has promised to provide developing nations the funds they require to tackle climate change.
China had pledged to supply US$3 billion to help developing nations reduce their carbon emissions in the biggest ever climate change commitment ever to be made by the country.
The announcement was jointly made by US President Barack Obama and Xi Jinping in Washington DC. The US and China promised that they would develop a “common vision,” after which they would take joint action to finalize a climate change deal in Paris by the end of 2015.
Last November, China had promised to cut down its carbon emissions by 2030, and the US had promised to cut down greenhouse gas emission by up to 28% by 2025. Early in September, China and the US pledged to share knowledge about emission accounting and low-carbon technology.
In their joint announcement of Friday, the two presidents highlighted the need to increase transparency in a bid to built confidence and trust in the implementation of measures to reduce carbon emissions, including the use of reviewing and reporting methods. According to a fact sheet released by the White House, the two countries had also made progress in ways to distinguish between developing and developed countries.
China has confirmed plans to launch a national-level emission trading system by 2017. This system would cover major industrial sectors such as cement, steel, and power generation besides implementing a system of “green dispatch” in favor of China’s electricity grid’s low-carbon sources. The measures announced by China will work well with the US Clean Power Plan, which was recently finalized. This plan aims to reduce the US power sector’s carbon emissions by 32 percent by 2030.
The US and China are developing standards of fuel efficiency for heavy-duty vehicles with the intention of finalizing these standards by 2016 and implementing them by 2019. They have also agreed to intensify efforts to reduce polluting hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).
Analysts say that other countries also need to intensify efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
Liz Gallagher of E3G, a climate consultancy firm, said:
For a strong outcome in Paris, it needs more than just the US and China. Other countries must not kick back and assume a G2 deal will keep us firmly on track for a safe climate. The voices and actions from the likes of Europe and vulnerable countries are needed to energize ambition.
