Politics
China’s Carbon Target Moves Big Economies Into Radical Climate Consensus
Can bold goals this week from Beijing to California keep hope alive for a 1.5°C future?
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After a week of far-reaching climate promises measured over decades, four of the world’s six largest economies have now proposed ending dates for their carbon emissions.
President Xi Jinping’s surprise announcement at the annual United Nations climate meeting this week committed China to reaching carbon neutrality by 2060. That brings the third-biggest economy by nominal GDP into a loose but vitally important consensus with the second largest (EU), fourth largest (Japan), and fifth largest (California). The end of emissions has been set even if the target dates remain varied—and at least a generation into the future.