COP29: China hints at more ambitious climate targets, releases details on climate finance

China will "strive to achieve carbon neutrality" before 2060, the Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang said late Nov. 12 at the UN Climate Change Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, a sign that the world's largest emitter is looking to set more ambitious climate targets.

In recent COPs, China has faced pressure, especially from developed countries, to peak its emissions before 2030 and reach net zero ahead of 2060, given its high current emissions and ability to scale up renewable deployment.

Ding, representing Chinese President Xi Jinping at COP29, reaffirmed the country's stance that developed countries should shoulder more responsibility in climate action. However, his latest message indicated that China is considering enhancing its climate targets.

The vice premier also shared that China's new Nationally Determined Contributions, or NDCs, for 2035 will cover all sectors of its economy and include all types of greenhouse gases, rather than just CO2.

NDC refers to the climate targets submitted by individual countries to the UN, with the next round of submissions due in 2025, covering targets to be achieved by 2035.

Climate finance

Ding has also, for the first time, provided a concrete assessment of the country's historical contribution to climate finance for other developing countries.

"Since 2016, China has provided and mobilized funds of more than Yuan 177 billion ($24.50 billion), effectively supporting other developing countries in coping with climate change," he said.

To put the number into context, China's annual average contribution was around $2.7 billion. In 2022, developed countries contributed a total of $115.9 billion in climate finance, with the US government providing about 5%, or $5.8 billion, S&P Global Commodity Insights data showed.

Notably, China has been cautious in the past and avoided making any statements regarding its contributions to climate finance, as the country has insisted that developed countries should be the only sole party responsible for contributing to the climate finance pool.

COP29, widely recognized as a finance COP, will have a focused discussion about whether the contributor base for climate finance should be expanded, particularly whether fast-growing developing economies like China should also make contributions.

Ding's message paved the way for further discussion on this controversial issue. However, he did not specify how China's historical contributions were estimated.

World leaders are under pressure to establish a New Collective Quantified Goal, or NCQG, for climate financing at COP29, replacing the $100 billion/year fund established under the Paris Agreement in 2015.