China pledges deep cuts of CO2 emissions

China will lower carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by 60-65 percent from the 2005 level by 2030, says a China-US joint presidential statement released on Friday.

In the document, issued during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to the US, China also pledges to increase the forest stock volume by 4.5 billion cubic meters on the 2005 level by 2030, reported Xinhua.

Meanwhile, A person of Indian descent, Salil Shetty, preceded Modi at the podium in the opening session of the UN summit.

Shetty, the secretary general of Amnesty International, spoke at the opening plenary session on Friday, calling for implementing the Sustainable Development Goals in line with human rights obligations.

“You cannot claim to support sustainable development when you are reluctant to reduce the consumption of the rich or transfer technology,” he said.

“You cannot preach about human rights while using mass surveillance. You cannot lecture about peace while being the world’s largest manufacturers of arms. You cannot allow your corporations to use financial and tax loopholes while railing against corruption,” Shetty declared.