A surprise announcement at this year’s UN General Assembly has transformed the politics of cutting carbon, says the BBC’s chief environment correspondent, Justin Rowlatt. As the meeting of the so-called “global parliament” comes to an end, he asks whether it might just signal the beginning of a global rush to decarbonize. The key moment came on Tuesday last week when the Chinese President, Xi Jinping, announced that China would cut emissions to net zero by 2060. But there is a much more important broader context for his announcement: the fact that the collapsing cost of clean energy is completely changing the calculus of decarbonization. Renewables are already often cheaper than fossil fuel power in many parts of the world and, if China and the EU really ramp up their investments in wind, solar and batteries in the next few years, prices are likely to fall even further.
By Justin Rowlatt. BBC News. September 30, 2020.
