FACT CHECK: Contrary to Claim, China Bears Mitigation Responsibility as the World’s Top Polluter

Amid COP28, the climate meeting held in Dubai, China’s state-linked observer offered flawed analysis to downplay Beijing’s ecological responsibility.

The biggest gathering of world leaders this year, COP28 was an opportunity to revise a goal set eight years ago at COP21 in Paris, when nearly 200 countries pledged to limit global warming to well below 2°C compared to pre-industrial levels.

In China, Victor Gao, vice president of the Center for China and Globalization, a Beijing-based think tank, argued that developed countries historically pollute more and thus bear more responsibility for global warming.

In a piece published on November 30 in China’s state-owned Global Times newspaper, Gao claimed:

“For the developed countries, historically speaking, they have been polluting much more than the developing countries, they should do more to mitigate the climate change impact.”