China to the rescue?
Business Daily
BBC
4.4 • 816 Ratings
🗓️ 28 September 2020
⏱️ 18 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
President Xi Jinping made a big surprise announcement on Tuesday - that China is committing to cut its net carbon emissions to zero by 2060.
But why has President Xi decided to take such a bold unilateral step? Will China's actions match his words? And how will other countries respond, not least the US?
To answer these questions, Justin Rowlatt speaks to two people who have been at the top table of international climate diplomacy. Todd Stern was US President Barack Obama's representative in the Paris Agreement negotiations. And Rachel Kyte was an advisor on sustainable development to the United Nations Secretary General.
Plus, Li Yan of Greenpeace in China explains what to look out for next year in the country's new five-year plan as proof that Beijing is serious about tackling carbon emissions.
Producer: Laurence Knight
(Picture: China's President Xi Jinping; Credit: Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I'm Justin Rowlett. You are listening to Business Daily and today we will be looking at what may well mark a pivot point for the world's climate. |
| 0:10.5 | She's announcement is a massive move. Announcing it at this moment, at this platform, it's something that I didn't see it coming. |
| 0:18.5 | And it's a happy, happy surprise. |
| 0:20.4 | The announcement, China may just have fired the starting gun on a global race |
| 0:26.3 | to eliminate fossil fuels. |
| 0:28.7 | It can be done. It is possible to electrify everything, clean up the cost of electricity, |
| 0:35.2 | and find ways to make that affordable for everybody. |
| 0:39.1 | But is China serious and will its actions match its words? |
| 0:44.5 | That is what we'll be discussing here on Business Daily. |
| 0:51.8 | China will increase our its'o-compan |
| 0:54.3 | lead to China will scale up its intended nationally determined contributions |
| 1:00.0 | by adopting more vigorous policies and measures. |
| 1:04.0 | We aim to have CO2 emissions peak before 2030 |
| 1:09.0 | and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. |
| 1:14.4 | It may sound a bit dull and technical, but this announcement by China's President Xi Jinping |
| 1:20.3 | at the United Nations last Tuesday was a bombshell for environmentalists. |
| 1:25.8 | If China follows through, it will join the European Union in taking |
| 1:29.7 | radical action to decarbonise its economy. And China is the world's biggest single source of carbon |
| 1:36.8 | emissions. Climateologists aren't used to such good news. International negotiations to reduce |
| 1:42.5 | carbon emissions have disappointed for decades. |
| 1:45.8 | Even the much-heralded Paris Agreement of 2015 was swiftly dumped by US President Donald Trump |
| 1:51.4 | after he was elected the following year. |
... |
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