CHINA’S commitment to a carbon emissions peak around 2030 in a climate change deal with the United States has received mixed reviews. Some experts have lauded it as “historic and game-changing” while others have dismissed it as meaningless.

But a closer look at Beijing’s first-ever pledge to such a cap earlier this month – which includes a target of using renewable sources for 20 per cent of its energy by 2030 – shows it is a significant move that comes at no small cost for the world’s biggest carbon dioxide (CO2) emitter, experts say.

“Put another way: Every month, between now and 2030, China’s clean energy additions need to equal about three large coal-fired power plants,” Greenpeace East Asia campaigner Li Shuo told The Straits Times.

… China environmental politics expert Wu Fengshi of Nanyang Technological University said her bet is on hydropower. “Solar is on the rise, and can be widely applied at a household scale, but it is not suitable for industrial facilities or the general grid,” she noted.