1. Background of the U.S. proposal and 155 countries joining: U.S. Special Envoy for Climate John Kerry announced at a recent important meeting that a total of 155 countries** or regions around the world have signed the "Global Methane Pledge" initiative to work together to reduce methane emissions and curb global warming.
2. Impact of Methane Emissions: Special Envoy Kerry stressed at the meeting that methane is a major contributor to nearly half of the global warming effect, but that there is still very limited money to be invested in this issue.
3. Global fundraising: Since last year's climate summit, countries around the world have raised more than $1 billion in new funding to implement methane mitigation actions. In addition, several of the world's largest oil and gas emitters have made legal commitments to limit emissions.
4. Membership increase: At present, the number of members of the "Global Methane Pledge" is increasing, in addition to the European Union, Canada, Germany, Japan and other countries that have joined, the new members also include Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Kenya. In total, it has reached 155 countries.
5. Reasons for China's non-confirmation of accession: However, it is worth noting that since the United States and Europe put forward this initiative, China has not yet confirmed its accession. It is widely believed in the United States and the West that China did not sign because of economic growth and energy pressures, and that failure to sign will affect global methane emission reduction actions.
1. The difficulty of undertaking emission reduction targets: According to the Global Methane Pledge, countries need to reduce methane emissions by 30% by 2030 compared to 2020. If China joins this pledge, it will need to rapidly reduce its methane emissions by nearly 20 million tons, a very difficult goal that many countries are not fully sure of.
2. China's efforts and achievements in reducing emissions: As one of the world's largest emitters of greenhouse gases, China has implemented a series of proactive policy measures over the past decade to vigorously promote emission reduction. According to statistics, China's methane emissions fell by 30% between 2010 and 2020, far exceeding the international average. This shows that China's efforts to reduce emissions have achieved remarkable results and do not need to be constrained by the outside world.
3. China's active participation in climate change: China has always attached great importance to climate change and actively participated in global environmental governance. China has repeatedly put forward emission reduction targets and plans, including peaking carbon emissions before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality before 2060. At the same time, China has also achieved positive results in accelerating the development of clean energy and strengthening energy conservation and emission reduction. Therefore, China's failure to sign the Global Methane Pledge does not mean that it is indifferent to the issue of climate change, but because China has its own emission reduction plans and actions, and has assumed its due responsibility in global climate governance.
4. Considering national development and economic transformation: China is a developing country and needs to continue to develop its economy and improve people's livelihood. Joining the Global Methane Pledge could impose unnecessary constraints on China's economic development and industrial transformation. China's refusal to sign the initiative is not because it is unwilling to take responsibility, but because it takes into account its own development needs and national conditions.
1. U.S.-China climate envoy meeting: Kerry met with China's climate change envoy Xie Zhenhua earlier this month and held a "Methane and Non-CO2 Greenhouse Gas Summit" to cooperate on methane emission reduction. After three days of negotiations, the two sides finally agreed on a position that promised to strengthen cooperation on methane and support a twofold increase in global renewable energy by 2030.
2. China's Methane Emission Control Measures: In a public response to questions about China's methane emission control, Special Envoy Xie Zhenhua pointed out that China recently released the Methane Emission Control Action Plan, and that China has already taken many measures in various fields such as coal, oil and gas, agriculture, and municipal waste disposal. Even if the plan has not been released before, it cannot be said that China has not done a job, in fact, China has done a lot of work in this area.
3. China's Future Emission Reduction Work: Special Envoy Xie Zhenhua said that the Methane Emission Control Action Plan has an important guiding role in further controlling methane emissions and has an important impact on promoting high-quality economic and social development. China will advance the emission reduction work step by step according to its national conditions and at its own pace to achieve sustainable methane action. Therefore, China's failure to sign the Global Methane Pledge does not mean that it does not attach importance to climate change, on the contrary, China has made important achievements in methane control, and will continue to step up efforts to reduce emissions, actively fulfill its international responsibilities, and make greater contributions to global climate governance. The United States and Western countries should also recognize China's efforts and achievements in reducing emissions.