Climate COP-Out – All About China
- By Bilal Hafeez
- 2 min read
‘COP26 is a failure’, says climate activist Greta Thunberg, referring to the ongoing UN climate conference in Glasgow. ‘Net zero by 2050. Blah, blah, blah. Net zero. Blah, blah, blah. Climate neutral. Blah, blah, blah… Words that sound great but so far have led to no action.’
Her cynicism has some basis. CO2 emissions have increased by almost five billion tonnes per year over the past 10 years. And this is despite numerous commitments from the 1997 Kyoto Protocol onwards.
There is some good news – both developed Europe and North America have reduced annual emissions over the past decade (Chart 1). But massive increases in emissions in developing economies swamp these reductions. The two biggest culprits are China and India, together accounting for almost 70% of the increase. Both countries have set notably less aggressive targets on net zero emissions at COP26.
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