Despite being two of the top three largest carbon emitters in the world, the Chinese President Xi Jinping will not be attending the COP27 United Nations Climate Conference.
According to Reuters, Xi Jinping has not been scheduled to attend the conference which started Sunday in Egypt. China is responsible for more polluting than any other developed nation combined. More than 100 heads are expected to attend COP27, which will officially end on Nov. 18. However, there are no representatives from India (the third-largest carbon emitter in the world), who are scheduled to attend the summit.
According to a 2019 Rhodium Group Report, China and India together account for 33.6% global CO2 emissions.
China’s top climate envoy Xie Zhenhau will represent the country. He arrived on Sunday to call for richer countries to send money to poorer countries to help them recover from the “loss and damages” caused by climate change. Bloomberg reported that Xie Zhenhau was China’s representative at the conference. China is currently delaying its transition to renewable energy and increasing coal production in order to ensure energy security.
China’s coal production accounted for almost 57% of its energy production in 2020. It emits nearly twice as many greenhouse gases than natural gas, which is a common energy source in the U.S.A. and Europe. India, which is heavily dependent on coal power, asked wealthy nations to fulfill their pledges to donate billions to developing countries like India to combat climate change.
According to The Guardian, world leaders have pledged to reduce emissions at COP27 and called on countries to support green energy and conservation efforts. Bloomberg reported that the conference attendees also discussed plans for pushing richer countries to make “climate reparations,” which will be paid to those developing nations who have been affected by climate change.
