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Before the climate summit, the United States and China have promised to form a working group to address the issue. The world’s two largest polluters, the Chinese and the Americans, are trying to put aside their differences in order to deal with the climate crisis.
Joe Biden, vice president of the United States, and Xi Jinping, president of China, meet on the outskirts of the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia.
The United States and China agreed to revive a climate cooperation working group and pledged significant increases in renewable energy production. The two governments confirmed the news today, just before a meeting between their respective heads of state was scheduled for today in San Francisco. The world’s two largest polluters, the Chinese and the Americans, are trying to put aside their differences in order to deal with the climate crisis.
Cooperation on climate change has long been seen as a bright spot in an otherwise tense relationship between the United States and China, which has shown itself in areas as diverse as trade, technology, human rights, and geopolitics.
Separate statements were released by the U.S. Department of State and China’s Ministry of Ecology and the Environment on Thursday after meetings between U.S. climate envoy John Kerry and Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua in California at the beginning of this month. This year, the two representatives also met in Pequim for talks.
According to the communication, the two countries have agreed to “operationalize” a stalled bilateral working group in order to “engage in dialogue and cooperation to accept concrete climatic actions” this decade. Such a working group was first proposed by Kerry and Xi at the 2021 United Nations climate summit in Glasgow, but has been on hold since August last year.
China has pledged to reduce emissions in the face of the ongoing climate crisis by following “its own path.”
The declaration also promises a significant increase in renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power as well as battery storage to help manage each country’s massive energy sector, and more specifically to replace fossil fuels like coal, petroleum, and natural gas that contribute to global warming.
To speed up “the substitution for coal, petroleum, and natural gas,” China and the United States have agreed to “accelerate sufficiently the installation of renewable energy” in their respective economies by the end of 2030. Both nations have pledged their support for efforts to “triple the capacity of renewable energy globally by 2030” and said they want to significantly reduce emissions from their energy sector by the end of this decade.
Both countries have agreed to reduce their use of all greenhouse gases by 2035 as part of their international climate commitments. These gases include carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). The agreement aims to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, a threshold beyond which scientists warn will make it more challenging for humans and other organisms to adapt to climate change impacts like heat waves and droughts.
For the first time, China has publicly stated its intention to limit greenhouse gas emissions beyond carbon dioxide, according to its current climate goals, according to a Chinese academic based in Beijing who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.
“Given the current political climate, both sides made good faith efforts to identify areas of agreement that may lead to progress. The student said, “He’s very practical.”
China’s promise to set release targets for all emissions of greenhouse gases was undeniably the most notable part of the declaration, according to Li Shuo, director of the China Climate Hub at the Institute of Asian Social Policy.
Although China has promised to limit its emissions “before 2030,” the exact date of this reduction has not been disclosed. But there are signs that the country’s rapid accumulation of wind and solar power is beginning to replace the car: a Carbon Brief analysis released this week predicted that China’s emissions would start falling next year and even predict an even larger shift in the other direction.
Despite China’s promises to significantly increase its use of renewable energy sources, no clear statements have been made on whether or not the country plans to phase out the use of coal, the most polluting kind of fossil fuel.
The announcement comes three weeks before COP28, the United Nations Climate Change Conference, which is being held this year in Dubai. The tone and pace of the annual conference may be determined by the degree to which other countries see signs of cooperation between the world’s two largest emitters.
Since their participation is “a pre-condition for a global significative progress,” Li said that the declaration was a “esforço oportuno de alinhar os EUA e a China” before COP28. However, he stressed that a climate agreement between the United States and China would only include “preparation of the ground” and not “definition of tone,” and that this was the task assigned to COP 28.
When the two countries get together in the United Arab Emirates, negotiations between the United States and China will help stabilize the political situation, but pressing issues like the phase-out of fossil fuels still need significant political effort. China should also keep in mind that other ambitions might be brought to the COP. Stopping the approval of new energy projects is a good next step,” he said.
The United States and China have taken a significant step forward in addressing the climate crisis by agreeing to revive a climate cooperation working group and pledging to increase renewable energy production. This milestone comes as the two nations acknowledge the urgent need to put aside their differences and work together to combat climate change.
The announcement was made just before a planned meeting between Vice President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping on the outskirts of the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia. The move reflects a growing recognition that cooperation on climate change can serve as a bright spot in the otherwise tense relationship between the United States and China.
In separate statements released by the U.S. Department of State and China’s Ministry of Ecology and the Environment, it was confirmed that the two countries have agreed to operationalize a bilateral working group to engage in dialogue and cooperation on concrete climate actions in the coming years. This working group, initially proposed by U.S. climate envoy John Kerry and President Xi at the 2021 United Nations climate summit in Glasgow, had been put on hold since August last year.
China has committed to reducing its emissions and pursuing its own path in response to the ongoing climate crisis. The country has also pledged to significantly increase its use of renewable energy sources, including wind and solar power, as well as battery storage. These efforts aim to replace fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum, and natural gas that contribute to global warming.
The United States and China have agreed to accelerate the installation of renewable energy in their respective economies by the end of 2030, with the goal of tripling global renewable energy capacity by that time. Additionally, both nations have committed to significantly reducing emissions from their energy sectors by the end of the decade.
As part of their international climate commitments, both countries have agreed to reduce their use of all greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). The agreement aims to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, a threshold beyond which the impacts of climate change, such as heat waves and droughts, become increasingly difficult to manage.
One notable aspect of China’s commitments is its intention to limit greenhouse gas emissions beyond carbon dioxide, according to a Chinese academic familiar with the matter. This demonstrates China’s willingness to go beyond its current climate goals and take additional action to address the climate crisis.
While China’s specific timeline for emissions reductions before 2030 has not been disclosed, there are signs that the country’s rapid deployment of wind and solar power is already beginning to have an impact. Analysis from Carbon Brief suggests that China’s emissions are projected to start declining next year.
However, there is no clear indication of whether China plans to phase out the use of coal, the most polluting fossil fuel. This is an important issue that will need to be addressed moving forward.
The timing of the announcement, just three weeks before the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, is significant. The level of cooperation between the United States and China will set the tone for the conference and influence its outcomes. Other countries will be closely watching the world’s two largest emitters to gauge their commitment to addressing the climate crisis.
Li Shuo, director of the China Climate Hub at the Institute of Asian Social Policy, believes that the declaration between the United States and China is an opportune effort to align the two countries ahead of COP28. However, he emphasizes that this agreement is just the groundwork and that the real tone-setting will occur at the conference itself.
Negotiations between the United States and China at COP28 will undoubtedly play a role in stabilizing the global political landscape and advancing efforts to phase out fossil fuels. However, significant political effort will still be required to address pressing issues in the fight against climate change. China should also be prepared for other ambitious proposals that may arise at the conference.
Overall, the agreement between the United States and China represents a significant step forward in global efforts to combat the climate crisis. It demonstrates the willingness of these two major players to work together and prioritize the urgent need for action. As the world’s two largest emitters, their cooperation and commitment are essential for achieving meaningful progress in tackling climate change.
