China blames US for ‘obstructing’ global fight against emissions
Beijing has accused the US of “obstructing” the global fight against greenhouse gases, a day after President Xi Jinping said China aims to have “CO2 emissions peak before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060.”
China said on Wednesday it considers this plan a “powerful rebuke to the US’ unfounded accusations” that were made against it at the UN General Assembly.
“This seriously obstructs the progress of reducing global emissions and promoting green, low-carbon development,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said. “What qualifications does such a country have to criticize China?” he was quoted as saying at a news briefing in Beijing.
The US, which is the world’s second-largest polluter, pulled out of the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change mitigation, blaming China for the stalled momentum on tackling global emissions.