SEOUL, South Korea – The United States and China, the world’s two largest carbon polluters, agreed to cooperate promptly to curb climate change, just a few days before President Joe Biden discussed the issue. Hosted a virtual summit of world leaders.
According to the joint statement, the agreement was signed by the US Special Envoy for Climate John Kerry and his Chinese counterpart Xie Xhenhua during two days of talks in Shanghai last week.
“Both countries are committed to cooperate with each other and with other countries to deal with the climate crisis,” the statement said.
China is the world’s largest carbon emitter, followed by the US. The two countries pump out about half of the fossil fuel smoke that is heating the planet’s atmosphere. Their cooperation is critical to the success of global efforts to curb climate change, but horrific relations with human rights, trade and China’s territorial claims on Taiwan and the South China Sea continue to threaten to undermine such efforts.
While meeting with reporters in Seoul on Sunday, Carey said the language in the statement is “strong” and that the two countries “agreed on key elements where we need to go.” But the former Secretary of State said, “I learned in diplomacy that you don’t put your back on words, you take action. We all have to see what happens.”
Noting that China is the world’s largest coal user, Carey said that he and Chinese officials discussed a lot on how to speed up the global energy transition. “I have never shied away from expressing my views shared by many people, it is necessary that there is less coal everywhere,” he said.
Biden has invited 40 world leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, to the April 22–23 summit. The US and other countries are expected to announce more ambitious national targets for carbon emissions reductions, with less rich countries promising financial support for climate efforts or meeting.
It is unclear whether Kerry’s visit to China will promote US-China cooperation on climate issues.
Although Kerry was still in Shanghai, Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Le Yucheng indicated on Friday that China was unlikely to make any new vows at next week’s summit.
“For a large country with 1.4 billion people, these goals are not easily delivered,” Le said during an interview with the Associated Press in Beijing. “Some countries are asking China to achieve the earlier goals. I’m afraid it’s not very realistic. “
News agency Xinhua News Agency on Friday said during a video meeting with German and French leaders that climate change “should not become a geopolitical chip, an excuse to attack other countries or trade barriers.”
On whether Xi would attend the summit, Lay said that “the Chinese side is actively studying the matter.”
The joint statement said that the two countries look forward to next week’s summit. Kerry said on Sunday that “we very much hope (Xi) will attend” the summit but it is up to China to make that decision.
Biden, who has said that fighting global warming is one of his top priorities, as the United States re-issued the historic 2015 Paris Climate Agreement in the first hours of his presidency, undoing the US withdrawal ordered by predecessor Donald Trump Was.
The major emitters of greenhouse gases are preparing for the next UN Climate Summit to be held in November in Glasgow, UK. The summit is intended to resume global efforts to keep global temperatures below 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit as agreed in the Paris Agreement.
According to the US-China statement, the two countries will “enhance their respective functions and cooperate in multilateral processes, including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement.”
It added that the two countries intend to develop their respective long-term strategies before the Glasgow Conference and take “appropriate actions to maximize international investment and finance” in support of the energy transition in developing countries.
Xi announced last year that China would be carbon-neutral by 2060 and aims to reach a peak in its emissions by 2030. In March, the Communist Party of China resolved to reduce carbon emissions per unit of economic output by 18% over the next five years, in line with its target for the previous five-year period. But environmentalists say China needs to do more.
Biden has promised that the US will transform into an emission-free electricity sector within 14 years, and by 2050 will be a completely emissions-free economy. Kerry is also pushing other countries to carbon neutrality until then.
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