China Unveils First Absolute Post-Peak Emissions Reduction Target at UN Climate Summit
President Xi Jinping announced China’s latest climate commitments at the UN Climate Summit, marking the country’s first explicit absolute reduction target: by 2035, net greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced by 7%–10% below peak levels after peaking. This target will be incorporated into China’s updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).
Key 2035 targets include:
- 3,600 GW of combined wind and solar installed capacity
- Non-fossil fuels exceeding 30% of primary energy consumption
- New energy vehicles becoming the mainstream in new vehicle sales
- National carbon market covering all key high-emission sectors
The announcement has drawn mixed reactions. While the introduction of an absolute post-peak reduction is a historic step, the 7%–10% decline is significantly less ambitious than 2035 targets from Australia (62%–70%), Switzerland (65%), and the United States under the Biden administration (61%–66%). The Climate Action Tracker (CAT) stated that existing policies and project pipelines already enable China to comfortably meet or exceed the target without additional effort, meaning the new NDC adds virtually no incremental mitigation ambition.
Delivered one day after U.S. President-elect Trump called climate change “the greatest con job ever,” Xi indirectly responded: “The green and low-carbon transition is the prevailing trend. Though some countries act against it, the international community must stay on the right course.”
Xi stressed that the targets represent “the maximum effort China can make given national circumstances” and require both strenuous domestic action and a supportive international environment.
In summary, China has tabled its first absolute reduction commitment, but the modest scale has been widely viewed as falling short of the country’s technical and deployment capabilities. The next five years, leading to the 2030 NDC submission, will be a critical window for assessing whether China significantly raises its ambition.
