Reuters US climate envoy John Kerry with top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi
NOS News•today, 22:34•Edited today, 22:37
The United States and China are reviving stalled talks on global warming, but have not yet reached new agreements. That is the outcome of a four-day visit to Beijing by US climate envoy John Kerry. It was the first time in months that the two largest emitters of greenhouse gases in the world spoke again about the climate.
“We – our team and the US government – have come to Beijing to loosen what has been almost stuck since last August,” Kerry said after talks with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng, among others. “This is our first face-to-face meeting since then and we’re here to break new ground.”
The talks about the climate stranded last year after the visit of the American then top politician Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan. China, which considers Taiwan a renegade province and strongly resents the Americans for Pelosi’s visit, then suspended cooperation with the US on climate. Kerry reports that more “intensive” climate talks with China are planned until the climate summit in Dubai at the end of this year.
Climate editor Heleen Ekker:
“The US and China are the world’s largest emitters, so tackling climate change can never be effective without them. China, as the largest emitter, bears a special responsibility. The country is still building new coal-fired power plants, the most harmful form of However, China is also serious about climate policy and is fully committed to clean energy, such as solar and wind farms, hydroelectric power plants and electric cars.
There is another reason why these climate talks are important. China and the US can join the rest of the world in becoming more ambitious on climate. At present, the world is not yet on track to meet the Paris climate goals. It will become clear later this year whether countries are increasing their climate ambitions to such an extent that these goals can be achieved.
In the coming period, the US and China will continue to talk more intensively, the countries announced. There are still four months to go, said John Kerry, referring to the upcoming global climate conference in Dubai from late November.
It has also been shown in the past that if China and the US act together on climate, far-reaching decisions can be taken on a global scale. For example, China’s positive attitude together with the US in 2015 was decisive in reaching the Paris Climate Agreement.”
Although both countries recognize that consultations on climate measures are necessary, the tension between China and the US is by no means over. Just yesterday, Chinese state media broadcast numerous reports about a Chinese ecology conference attended by President Xi Jinping. Environmental policy “should be determined by the country itself and not influenced by other countries”, was his message.
China’s state news agency Xinhua reports that Vice President Han Zheng has told Kerry that China considers tackling climate change “an important aspect of China-US cooperation”. He believes that this requires mutual respect.
‘Universal Threat’
Kerry agrees that countries should not be forced to do business. “That’s why we discussed intensively with each other for three days.” He told the Chinese delegation that he sees the climate crisis as a “universal threat” and that it should be viewed separately from other “diplomatic issues”.
In addition to Vice President Han Zheng, he also spoke with China’s climate envoy Xie Zhenhua, Premier Li Qiang and China’s top diplomat Wang Yi. He has not met President Xi Jinping.
2023-07-19 20:34:38
#China #resume #climate #talks #tensions
