Isn’t Xi coming? Hopes of COP26 are extinguished by probable absence of the Chinese leader

The leaders of most of the large issuers of greenhouse gases of the world will meet in Glasgow starting Sunday, with the aim of discussing plans and funds to tilt the planet towards clean energy. However, the boss of the greatest of them all will probably not be there.

The expected absence of the Chinese president Xi Jinping In talks it could point to the world’s largest CO2 producer having already decided it has no more concessions to offer at the UN climate summit in Scotland, COP26, after three major commitments since last year, observers said. of climate policy.

“One thing is clear,” said Li Shuo, Greenpeace’s senior climate adviser in Beijing. “COP26 needs high-level support from both China and other issuers.”

The head of the world’s third largest emissions source, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has pledged his attendance at COP26, which runs from October 31 to November 12.

Like other leaders, he will come under pressure from summit organizers to commit to reducing emissions more quickly and to set a deadline for reaching carbon neutrality, a target Xi set for 2060 to a surprising extent on last year.

However, China is unwilling to give in to international pressure to achieve more ambitious goals, according to an environmental consultant, especially when faced with energy supply problems. Beijing “is already at the limit,” said the consultant, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

A source close to the matter said Tuesday that Xi will not attend COP26 in person. He has already missed several high-profile world summits since the COVID-19 outbreak began in late 2019, and he did not physically attend the Global Biodiversity Conference in the Chinese city of Kunming this month.

Rather than making further concessions, the top priority for China and India is to secure a strong financing agreement for the richest countries to fulfill their Paris Agreement commitment to contribute US $ 100 billion a year to help pay for climate adaptation. and transferring clean technology to the developing world.

Xi did attend the 2015 Paris summit in person.

Local concerns

Although Xi has not traveled outside of China since before the pandemic, he has made three major climate announcements on the international stage.

Its unexpected commitment to zero emissions came in a video address to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in September 2020. The announcement encouraged companies, industrial sectors and even other countries to respond with their own zero action plans.

Xi also said in a message to the US-led Climate Leaders Summit in April that China would start reducing coal consumption in 2026. And he took advantage of this year’s United Nations General Assembly to announce the end of the coal financing abroad, one of the main issues in debate.

Like India, China has come under pressure to add more ambition to its updated “National Determined Contributions” (NDCs), which must be announced before the Glasgow talks begin.

However, the reviews are expected to focus on implementing the already announced goals, rather than making them more ambitious.

China has repeatedly stressed that its climate policies are designed to serve its own national priorities, and will not be carried out at the expense of national security and public welfare.