People’s China leads the way

 The UN Climate Change Conference kicked off in Baku, the capital of the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan, this week, amid hopes that the COP29 summit will bolster climate finance, carbon trading, and the global transition from fossil fuels. Keir Starmer was there, pledging to reduce carbon emissions by 81 per cent relative to 1990 levels by 2035. But this did little to off-set the fear amongst the leaders of the Global South that the new Trump administration in the United States will seriously undermine international efforts to deal with the ecological crisis.
Donald Trump is a climate change denier who serves the interests of the big American oil and gas corporations. “We have more liquid gold than any country in the world,” Trump said during his victory speech, a statement backed by the CEO of the American Petroleum Institute who said that “energy was on the ballot, and voters sent a clear signal that they want choices, not mandates”.
During his first presidential term Trump withdrew from the Paris Agreement, the 2015 international climate accord that guides the actions of more than 195 countries; rolled back 100-plus environmental rules and opened the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling. The Biden administration managed to undo some of these measures but Trump has pledged to reverse them during his second term. Climate change campaigners believe that this could lead to a rise of an additional four billion metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere – equalling the combined annual emissions of the European Union and Japan.
But while the Trump Team turns its back on scientific opinion at home and abroad People’s China is leading the way with its carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals, accelerating the comprehensive green transformation of its economy and society.
China is now an indispensable nation for global climate efforts, says former UN Under-Secretary-General Erik Solheim adding that it is essentially "impossible for the world to go green without China”.
China plays an important role in the global green energy transition, accounting for 60 per cent or more of global production in key green sectors, including solar, wind, and hydropower, as well as electric cars and batteries. The former UN official stressed the need for more investment to tackle climate challenges, saying multilateral platforms, like BRICS, are increasingly significant for addressing climate change.
"BRICS has become very important since that's an avenue for the Global South to come together and lead the world," he said, adding that the initiative will move to countries of the Global South. "The 'Belt and Road Initiative' has recently turned into a major vehicle for green investment in the world, in solar, wind, hydropower and green corridors".
Whether COP29 can be a climate conference that upholds commitments and makes progress in climate institutional innovation remains to be seen. Time is of the essence. During the opening ceremony, COP29 President Mujtar Babaiev, the Azerbaijani Minister of Economy and Natural Resources, warned that “we are heading for ruin. And it's not about future problems. Climate change is already here, the moment of truth has arrived”.