China Goes Green
China is the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases. Recently, the economic powerhouse has pledged to be carbon neutral by 2060.
According to one of the country’s top climate researchers, the goal to become carbon neutral not only includes carbon dioxide but all greenhouse gases. When this was first mentioned by President XI Jinping last month, this was not made clear and not accounting for gases such as methane, ozone and nitrous oxide would make this goal unrealistic.
It is still not clear how the president expects to achieve these goals, but the government is expected to reveal their plans in its upcoming 5-year plan for 2021-2025.
China will need to step it up if they are looking to become a truly green country. It was stated that to achieve their 2060 goal, the country will need to cut energy consumption per capita of gross domestic product by at least 14%. They will need to increase the share of energy that comes from non-fossil fuels to around 20% and even reduce carbon dioxide intensity by as much as 20%.
There is still a long way to go before China can be declared as victorious. This decision represents a great shift in narrative for the country and any habitant who cares about this beautiful planet we call home should be jumping for joy right about now.
I am not a financial advisor and my comments should never be taken as financial advice. Investments come with risk, so always do your research and analysis beforehand.