UN ‘very confident’ China plans to raise climate ambition

(Climate Change News, 11 Sep 2019) Two weeks ahead of a key summit in New York, lead official Luis de Alba raised expectations of a significant announcement from Beijing.

China is expected to come to the UN climate action summit with a more ambitious climate plan, a top UN official said on Wednesday.

Speaking ahead of the high-level meeting convened by UN secretary general in New York on 23 September, UN special envoy on climate change Luis Alfonso de Alba said he was “very confident that China will come to the summit with a clear commitment on a number of areas… with a much higher level of ambition”.

Referring to a statement signed by China, France and UN chief António Guterres on the margins of the G20 summit in July, De Alba said the communique had “made some important announcements”.

“One of them is a commitment of China to enhance their [national climate plan] and to come in September with a proposal on that,” he said.

The statement issued by Beijing and Paris reaffirmed their commitments to update their climate plans “in a manner representing a progression beyond the current one” and to publish their “long-term mid-century low greenhouse gas emissions development strategies by 2020”.

It makes no specific reference to announcements by China at the UN climate action summit and leaves open the timing to release details of the updated plan.

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Climate Change News, 11 Sep 2019: UN ‘very confident’ China plans to raise climate ambition