China hopes US will continue climate change collaboration whoever wins election, official says

By Colleen Howe and David Stanway

China hopes the United States will be able to continue to cooperate with other countries on climate change, whatever the outcome of the presidential election next week, a senior government official said on Friday.

Cooperation between China and the United States, the world's top two emitters of climate warming greenhouse gases, has helped seal major climate deals, including the 2015 Paris Agreement.

But the re-election of former President Donald Trump could end bilateral climate engagement between the two sides, with Trump likely to pull the United States out of the Paris Agreement for a second time.

"We expect the U.S. can maintain the stability and consistency of its climate policy, and we hope it can continue to work with other countries globally," said Xia Yingxian, director general of the climate office at China's environment ministry, during a briefing.

With COP29 climate talks set to get underway in Baku, Azerbaijan in 10 days, Xia told reporters he hoped the meeting would send a positive signal that "multilateralism cannot be reversed and international cooperation is indispensable."

As part of their obligations under the Paris Agreement, countries must submit new and more ambitious "nationally determined contributions" (NDCs) to the United Nations by February next year.

Washington has been pushing Beijing to commit to an emissions cut of 30% by 2035, but experts have warned that U.S. clout in climate diplomacy would be eroded significantly if Trump wins next week.

Xia told reporters China will "firmly implement its NDCs" and said new targets for 2035 had already been proposed, but he didn't give any further details.

While China has pledged to bring carbon dioxide emissions to a peak "before 2030" and become carbon neutral by 2060, researchers say it is capable of greater ambition, with CO2 possibly already in decline.

But though China has "made significant progress", energy demand is still on the rise and green trade barriers are holding back progress, warned Wen Hua, vice-director of the environmental protection office at the National Development and Reform Commission, China's planning agency.

"It has to be pointed out that the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals require arduous efforts," he told the Friday briefing.

Last month, an influential Chinese state think tank called on the government to set a target to cut absolute levels of carbon emissions by 2035.

The China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED) also recommended the government to double total wind and solar capacity to 2,400 gigawatts (GW) by 2030.