Monday, December 4

China’s Top Climate Cop Says $19 Trillion Needed to Meet Targets


China’s ambitious climate targets will require nearly $19 trillion of investment to accomplish, according to the nation’s top climate envoy.

Bloomberg News

Bloomberg News

A sign warning local residents not to burn trash in order to reduce pollution stands in a field as emissions rise from cooling towers at a coal-fired power station in Tongling, Anhui province, China, on Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2019. China's economy expanded at its weakest pace since 2009, according to figures Monday, with gross domestic product rising 6.4 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier.
A sign warning local residents not to burn trash in order to reduce pollution stands in a field as emissions rise from cooling towers at a coal-fired power station in Tongling, Anhui province, China, on Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2019. China’s economy expanded at its weakest pace since 2009, according to figures Monday, with gross domestic product rising 6.4 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier. Photo by Qilai Shen /Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) — China’s ambitious climate targets will require nearly $19 trillion of investment to accomplish, according to the nation’s top climate envoy.

The 130 trillion yuan of spending needed to peak emissions by 2030 and zero them out by 2060 will bring great opportunities for the new energy industry, Xie Zhenhua said at a conference last week, according to a report from the National Business Daily. China already has the world’s largest solar and wind power fleets, and is installing massive amounts of new panels and turbines in remote desert areas.

To get on track to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, the world needs to spend about $2 trillion a year through 2025, more than three times last year’s spending, according to a February report from BloombergNEF. China, the world’s biggest emitter, is also facing additional challenges posed by slowing economic growth and increased geopolitical turmoil.

“It is not easy to reach peak carbon emission within seven years and achieve carbon neutrality 30 years after that while ensuring economic safety,” Xie said. “It requires extremely arduous effort.”



financialpost.com