Xi Announces Ambitious Greenhouse Gas Targets
By Reuters | 24 Sep, 2025

Announcing clean energy plans that puts the US to shame, Xi alluded to Trump's renegade policies shirking international climate cooperation.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday told the United Nations that by 2035, his country plans to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 7%-10% below its peak emissions, and called out "some countries" for moving against the global clean energy transition.

Xi addressed a climate leaders' summit hosted by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a live video message from Beijing, announcing China's national climate plan, which was expected to be announced before the COP30 climate summit in Brazil in November.

Alongside the emission-reduction goal, Xi said China plans to increase its installed capacity of wind and solar power to over six times their 2020 levels in 10 years and its share of non-fossil fuels in domestic energy consumption to over 30% by 2035.

At the same time, he called on the world's developed countries to take the lead in stronger emissions reductions and climate actions. He referred, though not by name, to the U.S. for moving away from the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate.

"Green and low-carbon transformation is the trend of our times. Despite some countries going against the trend, the international community should stay on the right track, maintain unwavering confidence, unwavering action, and undiminished efforts," Xi said, calling on countries to keep focused on global climate cooperation. 

The summit comes a day after U.S. President Donald Trump used his UN General Assembly speech to blast climate change as a "con job" and criticize countries like EU member states and China for embracing renewable energy technologies.

U.S. President Donald Trump is withdrawing Washington from the 10-year-old Paris Agreement on climate, which aimed to prevent global temperatures from rising beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius through national climate plans. The U.S. is the world's biggest historical greenhouse gas emitter and second biggest current emitter behind China,

Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, host of the upcoming U.N. climate summit, warned fellow leaders that the Belem gathering and the updates of national climate plans will show the world "whether or not we believe in what the science is showing us."

Brazil has committed to reducing emissions by 59%-67% by 2035 and stepping up efforts to combat deforestation.

"Society is going to stop believing its leaders," he said. "And all of us will lose because denialism may actually win."

Guterres hosted the climate leaders summit on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. He has asked countries to announce their new climate targets to drum up momentum for the global COP30 climate negotiations in November in Brazil.

"The Paris Agreement has made a difference," Guterres said in prepared remarks. He added that since it was adopted in 2015, projected global temperature rise has dropped from 4 degrees C to 2.6, if current national climate plans are fully implemented. 

"Now, we need new plans for 2035 that go much further, much faster," he said.   

The European Union has not reached agreement on its new U.N.-mandated climate target in time for Wednesday's summit, and has instead drafted plans to submit a temporary goal, which could change later.

European Union President Ursula Van der Leyen said at the summit that the EU is on track to reach its 2030 target of slashing emissions 55% by 2030 and said its 2035 reduction goal would range between 66% and 72%.

(Reporting by Valerie Volcovici; Editing by Alistair Bell and David Gregorio)