China formally committed to halting the rise in its emissions within the next 15 years and pledged on Tuesday to reduce the carbon intensity of its vast economy, releasing its much anticipated strategy for United Nations climate talks.
In a plan that largely mirrors commitments Beijing made in a joint U.S. environment agreement last year, China said it would try to curb its carbon emissions before a 2030 target.
"China's carbon dioxide emission will peak by around 2030 and China will work hard to achieve the target at an even earlier date," Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said in a statement after meeting French President Francois Hollande in Paris.
China aims to reduce its CO2 emissions per unit of gross domestic product by 60-65 percent from 2005 levels, it said. The world's second largest economy also aims to increase the share of non-fossil fuels in its primary energy consumption to about 20 percent by 2030, the statement added.
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Ahead of the UN's climate change conference in Paris in December, countries are required to submit national plans, which will serve as the building blocks of a final agreement.
The Chinese plan chimes with targets announced in November, when Beijing reached a key climate change deal with Washington to cap its emissions by 2030 and fill 20 percent of its energy needs from zero-carbon sources.