{"id":281112,"date":"2025-11-13T05:34:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T05:34:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/281112\/"},"modified":"2025-11-13T05:34:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T05:34:09","slug":"renewables-giant-china-nears-peak-emissions-beijingers-see-mountain-peaks-for-first-time-in-decades","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/281112\/","title":{"rendered":"Renewables giant China nears peak emissions, Beijingers see mountain peaks for first time in decades"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the federal Coalition pitches what it says is the \u201cAustralian way\u201d<\/a> of lowering emissions, a new global report details how China\u2019s way has transformed it into a global economic powerhouse, and delivered significant milestones on pollution reduction.<\/p>\n

The Global Carbon Project (GCP), headquartered in Australia at CSIRO, has released its annual Global Carbon Budget<\/a>, including an estimate of greenhouse gas emissions from key sources, broken down by sector and country.<\/p>\n

Results this year are mixed, with the latest data showing that carbon emissions look likely to rise again very slightly in 2025 \u2013 putting the world on a trajectory that could hit the 1.5\u00b0C warming limit within just four years.<\/p>\n

The report projects emissions from fossil fuel use \u2013 which account for about 90 per cent of all emissions \u2013 will rise by 1.1 per cent in 2025, reaching 42.2 billion tonnes in the atmosphere, although emissions from land-use are expected to decrease.<\/p>\n

But there are some bright spots, including that emissions in China \u2013 currently the world\u2019s biggest polluter, responsible for 32 per cent of global emissions \u2013 are likely have reached a peak, or at least started to plateau.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve certainly been very pleased to see a confirmation of incredibly slow [emissions] growth in China,\u201d said Pep Canadell, GCP executive director and chief research scientist at CSIRO, in a briefing ahead of the report\u2019s release.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that from the China point of view, the peak emissions that we talk about \u2013 and it could be a plateau more than a peak \u2013 it is really about to happen, if it\u2019s not really happening already,\u201d Canadell said.<\/p>\n

Frank Jotzo, head of energy at the\u00a0Institute for Climate, Energy and Disaster Solutions and director at the Centre for Climate and Energy Policy at The Australian National University, says China efforts at decarbonisation have been driven by a \u201cunique\u201d mix of motivating factors.<\/p>\n

\u201cChina really has grabbed the economic and business advantage from clean energy,\u201d Jotzo told the briefing on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cChina is by far the largest investor in in clean energy domestically, and by a very long way the largest global producer of clean energy kit \u2026be it solar panels, \u2026wind turbines, now also electric cars and various other componentry for grids, etc, etc.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd so China has been successful in positioning to make this really their business, and that was aided both by industrial strategy and a strong desire to clean up China\u2019s domestic energy supply system, including because of air pollution.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re in Beijing now, for the first time, actually, in decades, on many, many days, you actually see the surrounding mountains in Beijing\u2026 which has a really important quality of life and not to mention health effect.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd so China has a vital interest in actually pushing the world towards more clean energy,\u201d he adds.\u00a0 \u201cI mean, the amount of wind turbine, solar transmission investment in China is staggering.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Canadell stresses that unless every country and government does its part in cutting emissions and supporting the technologies required for the task, then we will not fix the problem of dangerous global warming.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s absolutely no doubt the structural changes going on in China are so massive, the growth of renewable energy \u2026 is just absolutely out of this world. No one is matching this,\u201d Canadell says.<\/p>\n

But \u201cthe task is enormous,\u201d he adds. \u201cIt\u2019s not that we\u2019re trying to stop [emissions] growth, we\u2019re trying to stop growth and then go to net zero.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSo yeah, everyone has to contribute, otherwise we will certainly not fix the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

And Jotzo warns against falling for the argument currently being prosecuted by \u2018moderate\u2019 Liberals like Tim Wilson that Australia\u2019s climate policy should not be \u201ctied\u201d to international standards, but proportionate to its fractional contribution to global emissions.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, this is the oldest argument in the \u2018let\u2019s not do anything playbook,\u2019\u201d Jotzo said on Wednesday. \u201cAnd it\u2019s complete nonsense.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause\u2026 for example, China could say, \u2018oh, we consist of however many provinces \u2026and each province only accounts for, on average, 1% of global emissions. So why should any of our provinces do anything?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cAustralia is roughly in the area of 1% of global emissions, a bit over 1% of global GDP, less than 1% of global population.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSo [we\u2019re] small, but we\u2019re very highly visible \u2026not just because of the koala factor, but because among the rich countries, we have some very, very specific circumstances.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were 10 years or so where we as a nation seemed to work very hard to attain climate pariah status, right? And that has changed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe world 1763012048 knows that Australia is really tremendously successful in that transition to renewable energy,\u201d Jotzo says.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor a country that is heavy on fossil fuels to say the future is renewable really matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

And then there is the huge economic opportunity that a shift to renewables can deliver.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat can we learn from [China]? Well, deploy, deploy, deploy,\u201d says Jotzo.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAustralia is one of the many countries that actually benefits from what China has done \u2026 I mean, solar panels are now so cheap you might as well use it as a fencing material.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat would not have happened without China\u2019s tremendous manufacturing effort and policy to support it<\/p>\n

\u201cSo now, that\u2019s the lesson: Let\u2019s make use of those cheap opportunities for zero emissions energy.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you wish to support independent media, and accurate information, please consider making a one off donation or becoming a regular supporter of Renew Economy. Please click here. Your support is invaluable.<\/a><\/p>\n

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