中文
Offshore wind turbines are reflected in the waters of Laizhou City, east China's Shandong Province, January 7, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]
By Yu Li
On September 24, Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered video remarks at the United Nations Climate Summit held in New York, during which he announced China's 2035 Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). Against the backdrop of current turbulence and uncertainty in global climate politics, China's climate commitment has injected steadfast momentum into worldwide green development and emission reduction efforts.
Pressing challenge
This year marks the 10th Anniversary of the milestone Paris Agreement. The landmark global accord adopted in 2015 aimed to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, and preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared with pre-industrial levels.
The road is bound to be bumpy. The global average temperature in 2024 was approximately 1.55 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, surpassing the Paris Agreement's 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold for the first time.
Under the Paris Agreement, all parties must submit and periodically update their NDCs. These are national climate plans that outline each country's efforts to reduce emissions and adapt to climate impacts. By the end of the UN Climate Summit, leaders from more than 100 countries submitted their updated NDCs.
Responsible commitment
China's plan is ambitious. In the video remarks to the UN Climate Summit, Xi announced that China will, by 2035, reduce economy-wide net greenhouse gas emissions by 7 percent to 10 percent from peak levels, striving to do better; increase the share of non-fossil fuels in total energy consumption to over 30 percent; expand the installed capacity of wind and solar power to over six times the 2020 levels, striving to bring the total to 3,600 gigawatts; scale up the total forest stock volume to over 24 billion cubic meters; make new energy vehicles the mainstream in the sales of new vehicles; expand the National Carbon Emissions Trading Market to cover major high-emission sectors; and basically establish a climate adaptive society.
This is the first time that China has put forward an absolute emissions reduction target which covers economy-wide emissions from all greenhouse gases. Previously, China's climate targets primarily emphasized peaking carbon dioxide emissions, with policy focus largely directed toward the energy sector.
With the updated NDCs now encompassing all greenhouse gases, China's climate governance framework will be required to demonstrate broader coverage and greater rigor, marking a significant enhancement in both scope and ambition.
Wind turbines of Longyuan South Africa Renewables (Pty) Ltd.'s De Aar Wind Power Project in De Aar, South Africa, August 10, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]
Concrete achievements
Big moves are often supported by big foundations. In a powerful demonstration of its commitment, China has not only met but exceeded key 2030 NDC targets years ahead of schedule.
The target for a combined wind and solar capacity of over 1.2 billion kilowatts was surpassed by the end of 2024, with capacity hitting approximately 1.7 billion kilowatts by August 2025. This was driven by massive growth as the solar power capacity reached 1.12 billion kilowatts, growing 48.5 percent year-on-year.
Wind power capacity hit 580 million kilowatts, a rise of 22.1 percent. Similarly, the pledge to increase forest stock volume by 6 billion cubic meters from its 2005 baseline has been fulfilled, with the total volume rising to nearly 21 billion cubic meters.
This early success in these areas builds significant credibility for its other pledges, including peaking carbon dioxide emissions before 2030, lowering carbon intensity by over 65 percent from 2005 levels and raising the share of non-fossil energy to around 25 percent.
Global endeavor
Climate commitment is rooted in the belief that climate action benefits all humanity and future generations and must be achieved through global endeavors. As Xi stated, "green and low-carbon transition is the trend of the time. While some countries are acting against it, the international community should stay focused on the right direction." He also called for upholding fairness and equity and stressed the importance of deepening cooperation.
As of September 2025, China has signed 54 climate-related South-South cooperation agreements with 42 developing countries and hosted over 300 capacity-building workshops. Since 2016, it has provided and mobilized 177 billion Chinese yuan ($24.8 billion) in funding to support climate change initiatives in these nations.
In his speech, Xi said, "the global green transition should serve to narrow rather than widen the North-South gap. "He stressed the importance of deepening cooperation, adding that international coordination in green technologies and industries should be strengthened to address the shortfall in green production capacity and ensure the free flow of quality green products globally, so that the benefits of green development can reach all corners of the world.
The message is clear: A greener and sustainable future must be collectively safeguarded by all of humanity. China is not only pursuing this path domestically but is also supporting Global South countries in their transition. It is imperative that the international community work together to foster a fair and equitable environment for green development and to ensure that global efforts are recognized and advanced rather than undermined.
Yu Li is a special commentator on current affairs for CGTN.
