It’s hard to make progress on climate change when the biggest polluter doesn’t show up.
Chinese President Xi Jinping wasn’t among the dozens of world leaders there to open COP26, the ongoing climate talks organized by the United Nations in Glasgow, Scotland. China also sent a much smaller delegation than usual and was uncharacteristically quiet during the first week of meetings. In the few comments that officials did make, they mostly pushed back against calls to cut emissions more quickly.
The world’s second-biggest economy also stayed out of pacts to tackle methane, a superpotent greenhouse gas, and reduce funding for fossil fuel-two measures that attracted widespread support and will likely end up among the biggest achievements of the entire summit.