After a year of disappointments, during which climate action was pushed lower on the list of priorities for countries worldwide, some forward movement has finally begun on the climate change front in the last few days. The special climate summit hosted by UN Secretary General António Guterres on Wednesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session managed to bring back much-needed attention to climate action ahead of the annual climate conference in Brazil in November.As was expected, several countries announced their new climate commitments for 2035 during this special event. But the only one that the world was truly interested in was the announcement from China. China’s President Xi Jinping, making an appearance at the event through video-conferencing, finally unveiled his country’s plans to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, and set a target of 7-10 per cent cuts by the year 2035 from its peak levels.Though the general expectation was that the targets would be more ambitious, China’s decision to finally start making direct emission cuts could very well mark the turning point in global action on climate change. China is the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, accounting for nearly a third of the world’s annual emissions, and its emissions are still on the rise.Since it is still categorised as a developing country, China did not have any obligation under the international climate regime to make direct cuts in its emissions. The only commitment from its side to date was to keep reducing its emission intensity of GDP (emissions per unit GDP) and increase the share of renewables in its energy mix, much like the commitments by India, whose annual emissions are about five times lower.The Chinese announcement is potentially the beginning of the most significant phase in the global efforts to reduce emissions, though it could be argued that it has come a little late in the day. The prospects of meeting the 1.5 degree Celsius target of the Paris Agreement are extremely dim, if not entirely non-existent, now, and unless China is able to deliver much more than what it is currently promising, the 2 degree Celsius target is also sure to meet a similar fate.The Chinese promiseThere is more to the Chinese announcement than just the headline number of 7 to 10 per cent cuts in its emissions by 2035. Xi also said that China intended to take the share of non-fossils in its total energy consumption to 30 per cent by 2035, and increase the solar and wind energy installed capacity to six times the level of 2020, that is, to about 3,600 GW, almost three times the entire electricity generation installed capacity in the United States, from all sources.The full details of China’s climate action plan for 2035, called Nationally Determined Contributions, or NDCs, in the language of the Paris Agreement, are not yet out, since the country is still to make a formal submission. But Xi did mention that China’s emissions reductions would be economy-wide, not just in a few sectors, and would cover all greenhouse gases, not just carbon dioxide.Story continues below this adChina’s 7-10 per cent reduction is pegged to its peak level, but the peak is not specified. While some estimates say that China’s emissions might already have peaked, others suggest these may still be rising. The formal NDC, when it is submitted, might be able to throw more light on this.Considering that China has been the main driver of the rising global emissions in this century, the measures it has announced would no doubt have an impact greater than any other climate action that has been undertaken till now. Still, the Chinese plan was met largely with disappointment.“China’s 2035 target of just 7–10% (reduction) falls critically short of what’s needed. It’s neither aligned with China’s economic decarbonisation potential nor its own 2060 carbon neutrality goal… China as a clean tech powerhouse chose to downplay its potential,” said Kaysie Brown, associate director, climate diplomacy and governance, at E3G, a UK-based climate-focused think tank.Also in Explained | What the ICJ ruling means for the Kyoto ProtocolCritically shortStory continues below this adA recent analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), a non-profit registered in Finland, found that China could actually achieve a 30 per cent reduction in its emissions by 2035 from 2023 levels. It also said that this is what would be required to align the global emissions trajectory with the Paris Agreement targets.Current assessments indicate that the world would be able to cut its emissions by less than 2 per cent by 2030 on 2019 levels even if all the committed climate actions up to that year are implemented in full. This is woefully short of the 43 per cent reduction that science suggests is required to keep alive hopes of meeting the 1.5 degree target.The free pass that China received under the international climate architecture, despite emerging as the world’s leading emitter two decades ago, not just contributed to it becoming the economic powerhouse that it is today, but also put it in a situation from which it can carry out the fastest energy transition ever. The way it has been amassing clean and renewable energy capacity in the last few years — it has more than half of the world’s solar and wind capacity — it gave the world the hope that when it finally begins to decarbonise, it would be able to do so at a much faster pace than any other country.That continues to be the hope even now. “We know China has a long and impressive record of meeting and surpassing its targets for climate change and clean energy,” said Simon Stiell, executive secretary of UN Climate Change, in reaction to China’s 2035 plan.Story continues below this adBut even if China were able to over-achieve its 2035 targets, it alone cannot move the needle on global emissions in a significant way. The fact that the United States, the world’s second-largest emitter, has opted to exit the Paris Agreement remains one of the biggest problems in global climate action.Yet, the fact that China has begun to move is of immense importance. It could be the most consequential move in the history of climate action.