One usually hears two stories about China and climate change. The first is that China leads the world in greenhouse gas emissions as it continues to build more coal power plants. The second is that China is leading the world in developing clean technologies that will allow all countries to remove carbon economies at a much lower cost than it was possible five or ten years ago.

Both stories are correct, and politics in China and the rest of the world must reflect this reality. In 2022, China Emitted 15.7 Gigatons of greenhouse gases, much more than six Gigown in America or the European Union 3.6 GB.

While these absolute numbers reflect the largest population of China, the individual emissions of them, at 11 tons, largely exceed 8.1 tons from the European Union and 6.3 tons in the United Kingdom; Moreover, the latter are walking on the right path to less than 2 tons by 2040.

China has committed to the peak of emissions by 2030 and Net-Zero by 2060, but this still means that the cumulative carbon dioxide emissions between now and 2060 can be about 250 GB. In contrast, the current obligations from the United Kingdom and the European Union indicate an additional 4.5 and 45 GB, respectively.

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In a world where there are no geopolitical tensions, the leadership of clean technology in China will be welcomed as a blessing of humanity. But given the current political facts, I instead feared concerns about jobs and security.

Those 250 Gigadone alone will use it a lot Among the remaining “Carbon Budget” in the world, which can be emitted with reducing global warming to “much less than 2 degrees Celsius”, as agreed in the Climate Agreement in Paris 2015. This means that the average temperature of planets in the year 2100 will be greatly affected by what China does, and at a minimum of the European Union or the United Kingdom.

About 5.9 Gigown of the annual emissions in China comes from the continued -dominated energy generation system Plan To add 280 GB of coal power capacity by 2029. Moreover, emissions are from the steel and huge cement sectors It exceeds 50 percent Subordinate Global TotalAlthough they began to decrease with a decrease in construction.

But China is also the world leader in five main “green” technologies: solar photovoltaic panels, wind turbines, batteries, electric cars, and heat pumps – that can replace them. Three quarters From the use of global fossil fuels and relevant emissions.

EVS now represents Almost 50 percent Among all passenger car sales in China, compared to 23 percent in the European Union and more than 10 percent in the United States; Electricity meets 32 percent From the final demand for energy, compared to 24 percent in Europe and the United States.

In 2024, China Installed around 400 GB From solar energy and wind energy, more than half of the global total. Although coal capacity is still growing, these facilities are increasing 3 % decrease In the first half of 2025.

The deployment of massive technology in China brought huge costs and performance improvements. The costs of solar PVs per watt 90 percent decreased In 15 years, while production revenues have increased; Battery costs per kiloing hour It also decreased, while energy density and charging speeds are constantly improving. This progress provides discounts in emissions faster, not only in China but all over the world.

Indeed, excess solar energy systems Cheaper A way to provide electricity around the clock across most of the World Sun belt. Africa, in particular, can now jump through most of the fossil fuel stage, and quickly expand its cheap and clean electricity ability to operate economic growth.

In a world where there are no geopolitical tensions, the leadership of clean technology in China will be welcomed as a blessing of humanity. But given the current political facts, I instead feared concerns about jobs and security. Worse, the customs tariff and other commercial restrictions imposed in response to China’s domination of manufacturing can increase the cost and delay of global energy transmission.

Another source of tension is the excessive ability of China in iron and steel. Since these decisive inputs are still produced in a carbon dense, they threaten to undermine Europe’s commitment to removing carbon from its heavy industry. While the mechanism of adjusting the carbon borders in the European Union is a justified response to this threat, China initially saw protectionism.

Consequently, the maintenance of global warming “is much lower than 2 ° C” will require a coordinated action by all countries that attended the United Nations Climate Change Conference in November (COP30). With the United States abandoning global leadership-especially in climate change-China-European cooperation has become more important.

With this in mind, Chinese and European leaders should focus on four priorities. First, China should set more ambitious goals to reduce emissions for itself. If this does not happen, it is possible that the European populists who intersect climatic obligations will have as expensive and meaningless. But if China increases its ambitions, Europe must enhance its goals and medium -term policies to ensure long -term obligations.

Second, China must do more to remove carbon by unleashing innovation in steel, cement and chemicals. This will require steady increasing carbon prices in all sectors of the industry, perfectly converging to European levels.

Third, Europe must welcome clean leadership in China, and adopt a fact -based approach to competitive issues and security. After the Energy Transport Committee RecommendationsThis means opening up to imports of products that make up the minimum risk to European jobs (such as solar panels) and internal Chinese investment in sectors such as batteries and EVS.

Finally, Europe and China should work with other countries to launch the funding flows needed to accelerate clean energy growth throughout Africa and in other low -income countries.

Chinese green technology leadership has created an opportunity that the world cannot disperse. Europe must work with China to realize this capabilities.