From Watts Up With That?

Essay by Eric Worrall

“… We obviously want China and all countries indeed to move away from fossil fuels …”

Ed Miliband vows to engage with China on climate after Tory ‘negligence’

Energy security and net zero secretary travels to Beijing for countries’ first formal climate meetings since 2017

…

Miliband stressed that “the world is way off track from where we need to be” before the COP30 UN climate summit in Brazil in November. He said that in his first eight months as secretary of state, he had visited Brazil, India and China, showing that “Britain is back as a climate leader” on the world stage. The UK is hoping to shape a new global axis in favour of climate action along with China and developing countries, to counter Donald Trump’s abandonment of green policies in the US.

…

Miliband said: “The issue of forced labour is absolutely something I’ve raised and it is a concern in the UK … I raised it with my Chinese hosts.” He said China “will continue to play a really important role in solar production”.

…

… Beijing remains committed to coal, and recently pledged “increase coal production and supply capacity” to ensure energy security.

“We obviously want China and all countries indeed to move away from fossil fuels,” Miliband said. He said that he believed …

…Read more: 

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/mar/17/ed-miliband-vows-to-engage-with-china-on-climate-after-tory-negligence

I’m confused. If China is not doing anything substantial to reduce emissions, and even the Guardian admits China is openly committed to building more coal, what did the mission actually achieve?