Beijing rejects EU proposal to toughen fight against climate change

China has yet to reduce its CO₂ emissions, which could have peaked last year, according to some estimates.

A high-level delegation from the European Commission, on an official trip to China these days, seems to have failed in the European Union’s (EU) attempt to get the Asian giant to join its position ahead of the next UN climate summit, COP30.

“Together we can write a success story,” Teresa Ribera, Brussels’ Executive Vice-President for a Clean, Just and Competitive Transition, said on Tuesday at the start of the sixth high-level climate dialogue in Beijing.

“Over the next few months, we have to send firm signals together to the rest of the actors that the multilateral system is very much alive,” added the Spanish socialist.

China’s response was to remind Europe of the “practical measures” it has already taken, according to its official version. China has yet to reduce its CO₂ emissions, which could have peaked last year, according to some estimates.

Brussels has called on China, the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, to reduce coal burning, a week after Beijing “urged developed countries to meet their climate commitments in terms of finance, technology transfer and other areas”.

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