China's Xi Jinping makes no new climate change commitments in written address to COP26

China will continue to prioritise ecological conservation and pursue a green and low-carbon path to development, President of China, Xi Jinping said in a written address to the COP26 Climate Summit ongoing in Glasgow. Refuting all speculations of his virtual presence in the summit, Jinping, through a written letter, called on leaders to take "concrete actions" to ensure coordinated development, making no major commitments for climate change.

In the letter published by Nikkei Asia, citing Xinhua Agency, the Chinese President also highlighted the need to uphold multilateral consensus to overcome global challenges. He also urged world leaders at the global summit to "set realistic targets" and deliver climate action measures. "It is important to harness innovations in science and technology to transform and upgrade our energy and resources sectors as well as industrial structure and consumption pattern," Jinping said, noting the importance of implementing the green transition.

Hopes of strong actions towards mitigating climate change seemed diminishing with Russia and China - two major contributors to carbon emissions - opting out of the Summit. Although, India gained much applauds for its "transformative" and "bold" pledge of achieving 'Net Zero' emissions by 2070. Additionally, PM Modi also announced notable vows by revising nationally determined commitments (NDCs) as Paris Accord.

India revises emissions targets to bolster actions against climate change

At the COP26 Summit, PM Modi revised India's NDC of reducing emissions intensity in regard to the Paris Agreement. PM Modi now has committed to reducing 45% of carbon emissions by 2030, which was earlier decided to be 33% -35% as per the Paris Accord. For the first time, India has also spoken about 'net zero' by 2070, garnering many applauds from Indian environment experts. In a 'seminal statement' the PM also highlighted the range and depth of climate actions taken by India along with future goals that the country "set for herself," Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said at a Tuesday briefing from Glasgow, as per ANI.

India's new target of 500 gigawatts (GW) of energy from non-fossil fuel sources is also dubbed as a "very significant" contribution to climate summit goals. It is to be noted that as per Paris Agreement, India's nationally determined contribution said that "40% of our installed electricity would come from renewable energy sources by 2030," Shringla noted adding that at the COP26, PM Modi revamped the NDC and made it 50%. "That's a significant announcement again," the Foreign Secretary asserted.

Image: AP