FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 24, 2025
350.org reacts to Xi Jinping pledging China’s first all-gas, all sector climate plan before COP30
In a pivotal announcement at the Leaders Meeting on Climate and the Just Transition ahead of the COP30 UN Climate Conference, Chinese President Xi Jinping reaffirmed China’s commitment to climate action. President Xi pledged to deliver a new climate plan, formally known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)–and clarified for the first time this target will cover all economic sectors and all greenhouse gases, a move described by UN Secretary-General António Guterres as “extremely important”.
China’s current climate target under the Paris Agreement NDC target remains insufficient, as it includes:
- Only a topline target of peaking carbon dioxide emissions “before 2030”; whereas a Paris-compatible climate target would require a 20%-reduction of all greenhouse gases, not only carbon dioxide;
- Coal power in China is still expanding and recorded a total increase of 1% last year.
- China already surpassed its wind and solar power capacity target of over 1,200 GW by 2030 last year.
Analysis by the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air concludes, an ambitious Chinese NDC must include:
- Reduce overall emissions by at least 35% by 2035
- Reduce coal power by at least 40%
- Achieve 5000 GW of renewable energy capacity
Andreas Sieber, 350.org Associate Director of Global Policy and Campaigns says:
“This is a major breakthrough: Xi Jinping has confirmed that China will announce a new climate target this year—one that finally covers all greenhouse gases and all sectors of the economy. It’s a long-overdue shift that could reset the global pace on climate action. The question now is not whether China will act, but how far it is willing to go. Above all, real ambition means confronting the country’s coal dependence head-on—and delivering a rapid and orderly decline in coal consumption.”
Chuck Baclagon, 350.org Asia Regional Campaigner says:
“In the wake of the United States’ withdrawal from the Paris Agreement—a move that left a gaping hole in global climate leadership—China’s bold stance signals a strategic shift in power: one where Asian nations are stepping forward to lead the way. China’s forthcoming updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), expected before COP30 in Belem, Brazil, may offer game-changing momentum, setting the stage for interventions that increase the capacity of countries to thrive, not just survive, in a warming world. For climate-vulnerable countries across Asia, this could mark the beginning of a long-overdue shift: one where climate action is seen not as a burden, but as a development pathway. But the promise lies not in top-down declarations alone. China must ensure that its energy transition is rooted in strong community ownership. Without it, no plan—no matter how ambitious—will be durable or just.
As the world eyes COP30, the onus is on China to live up to its pronouncements. China’s renewed commitment must translate into measurable, transformative action to accelerate decarbonization across energy, transport and industry. It must stop the construction of new coal-fired power plants, which undermines China’s clean energy progress. At the same time, other major historical and high per capita emitters must be held to account by ensuring predictable climate finance flows, honoring commitments to climate-vulnerable countries, and delivering deep emissions cuts in line with the urgency of the crisis. In this collective effort, leadership is not about who speaks first, but who acts at the scale and speed the moment demands.”
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Pascale Hunt
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Ilang-Ilang Quijano
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