CGTN: China Unveils 2035 Climate Plan With Bolder Green Targets

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 25 (Bernama) -- China has officially announced its 2035 Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), pledging to cut economy-wide net greenhouse gas emissions by seven to 10 per cent from peak levels and ramp up wind and solar power capacity to 3,600 gigawatts—more than six times the 2020 total.

President Xi Jinping unveiled the targets during a video address to the United Nations Climate Summit 2025, calling for global unity in building a “community with a shared future for humanity” amid escalating climate risks.

According to China Global Television Network (CGTN) in a statement, the announcement builds on China's 2020 climate pledge to peak carbon emissions before 2030 and reach carbon neutrality before 2060.

Since then, China has advanced key mechanisms, including carbon sequestration, expansion of the national carbon trading system, and a shift toward clean energy infrastructure.

As of August 2025, China’s carbon market hit a record 189 million tonnes in trading volume, with a transaction value of 18.1 billion Chinese yuan (approximately US$2.54 billion). In 2024, the power sector’s carbon intensity fell by 10.8 per cent compared to 2018, underscoring the role of market-based tools in emissions reduction. (US$1=RM4.21)

Last year, the country also launched a national market for the trading of voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction, underscoring its drive to broaden policy tools for achieving its dual carbon goals.

President Xi has also underscored the key role a sound ecological environment plays in supporting China's long-term development and has long been concerned about land restoration and afforestation. 

Ecologically, China has made long-term commitments to land restoration and afforestation. Between 2012 and 2024, its afforested land covered an area more than twice the size of Germany. In 2024, 222 cities met air quality standards, with good air quality recorded on 87.2 per cent of the days.

China’s green diplomacy has also expanded. Since 2016, 177 billion Chinese yuan has been mobilised to support developing nations with clean energy, adaptation, and climate resilience efforts. To date, 42 nations have signed climate cooperation deals with China, resulting in 54 agreements.

Looking ahead, China aims to deepen multilateral cooperation in global climate governance, aiming at building a community with a shared future for humanity in responding to climate risk and working closely with all nations to face a pressing challenge that no single country can solve alone.

-- BERNAMA