New York: A day after US President Donald Trump labelled climate science at the United Nations General Assembly as the "greatest con job ever," Chinese President Xi Jinping unveiled ambitious new Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) at the UN Climate Summit.

In a stark contrast to Trump's scepticism, Xi committed to a 7 to 10 per cent reduction in economy-wide net greenhouse gas emissions by 2035 from peak levels, signalling China’s determination to tackle climate change head-on.

What did Xi Jinping say?

Delivering a virtual address from Beijing on Wednesday, Xi outlined China’s comprehensive green transition plan, reaffirming his country's confidence in low-carbon development despite global pushback. He stated, "Green and low-carbon transition is the trend of our time. While some countries are acting against it, the international community should stay focused on the right direction, remain unwavering in confidence, unremitting in actions and unrelenting in intensity, and push for formulation and delivery of NDCs, with a view to providing more positive energy to the cooperation on global climate governance."

A direct counter to Trump?

This remark appeared to be a direct rebuttal to Trump’s earlier address, in which the US President criticised global climate efforts. Trump dismissed the issue as a "fake energy catastrophe," attacked renewable energy sources, and labelled the concept of a carbon footprint as a hoax. He also accused unnamed groups of having "evil intentions" in pushing environmental agendas.

In contrast, Xi's pledge includes significant targets for China’s green transition. He committed to increasing the share of non-fossil fuels in total energy consumption to over 30 per cent, expanding wind and solar power capacity to more than six times 2020 levels, with a target of 3,600 gigawatts. Additionally, Xi aims to scale up forest stock to over 24 billion cubic metres and make new energy vehicles the mainstream in new car sales.

Further measures include expanding the National Carbon Emissions Trading Market to cover major high-emission sectors and fostering a climate-adaptive society. Xi also reiterated the importance of fairness and equity in global climate efforts, stressing that developed nations must take the lead in reducing emissions and providing financial and technological support to developing countries.

"In the course of global green transition, fairness and equity should be upheld and the right to development of developing countries fully respected. The transition should serve to narrow rather than widen the North-South gap," Xi stated, invoking the "common but differentiated responsibilities" framework.

Emphasising the need for deeper international cooperation, Xi called for coordinated efforts in green technologies and industries to meet the growing global demand for green products, ensuring equitable access worldwide. "It is important that countries strengthen international coordination in green technologies and industries to address the shortfall in green production capacity and ensure the free flow of quality green products globally, so that the benefits of green development can reach all corners of the world," he added.

Xi’s proactive stance on climate change positions China as a leading voice in global climate governance, directly challenging the scepticism from the US and underscoring Beijing’s intent to drive multilateral action on environmental challenges.