China has been committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.China's pledge of carbon neutrality will play an essential role in galvanising global climate action,which has been largely deferred by the Covid-19 pandemic.China's carbon neutrality could reduce global warming by approximately 0.2-0.3℃and save around 1.8 million people from premature death due to air pollution.Along with domestic benefits,China's pledge of carbon neutrality is a"game-changer"for global climate action and can inspire other large carbon emitters to contribute actively to mitigate carbon emissions,particularly countries along the Belt and Road Initiative(BRI)routes.In order to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060,it is necessary to decarbonise all sectors in China,including energy,industry,transportation,construction,and agriculture.However,this transition will be very challenging,because major technological breakthroughs and large-scale investments are required.Strong policies and implementation plans are essential,including sustainable demand,decarbonizing electricity,electrification,fuel switching,and negative emissions.In particular,if China can peak carbon emissions earlier,it can lower the costs of the carbon neutral transition and make it easier to do so over a longer time horizon.China's pledge of carbon neutrality by 2060 and recent pledges at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties(COP26)are significant contributions and critical steps for global climate action.However,countries worldwide need to achieve carbon neutrality to keep the global temperature from growing beyond the level that will cause catastrophic damages globally.

Hong Yang;Xianjin Huang;Jianlin Hu;Julian R.Thompson;Roger J.Flower

Department of Geography and Environmental Science,University of Reading,Reading RG6 6AB,UK;School of Geography and Ocean Science,Nanjing University,Nanjing 210023,China;Collaborative Innovation Center of Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technology,Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment Monitoring and Pollution Control(AEMPC),School of Environmental Science and Engineering,Nanjing University of Information Science&Technology,Nanjing 210044,China;Department of Geography,University College London,London WC1E 6BT,UK

环境科学与工程前沿

[1]Hong Yang;Xianjin Huang;Jianlin Hu;Julian R.Thompson;Roger J.Flower-.Achievements,challenges and global implications of China's carbon neutral pledge)[J].环境科学与工程前沿,2022(08):183-186

galvanising,decarbonise,decarbonizing

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