India and China ‘on Track to Exceed Paris Climate Pledges’

Cancellations of coal plants mean the world’s two largest countries are cutting emissions faster than predicted a year ago, the changes exceeding the effect of US policy rollbacks.

With downgraded outlooks for coal use, India and China are set to beat their pledges to the Paris climate agreement, according to an updated analysis of their climate policies.

Just as coal plants are canceled in the two largest emerging economies, in the US the Trump administration has started to roll back regulations designed to constrict emissions.

But analysis released by Climate Action Tracker (CAT) on the sidelines of a UN climate meeting in Bonn, Germany found policies in India and China would more than outweigh slower emissions reductions in the US.

The growth in global emissions has stalled in recent years, thanks mainly to reduced consumption of coal in China.

“This has been attributed partially to structural changes in the Chinese economy, but also a continued policy drive to reduce coal use to both combat air pollution and climate change,” said Dr Yvonne Deng, a consultant scientist at Ecofys, one of a group of organisations that contributes to the CAT project.

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