US climate envoy John Kerry called in Beijing this Monday for “urgent action” by the US and China, the two biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, to combat the effects of climate change.
Kerry, who is in the Chinese capital until Wednesday to resume climate talks between the two countries, made the appeal after a four-hour meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Xie Zhenhua, local CCTV reported.
“[Washington e Pequim] must take urgent action on a number of fronts, especially on coal and methane pollution issues,” the former US Secretary of State tweeted after the meeting.
“The climate crisis requires the world’s two largest economies to work together to limit global warming,” he added.
For her part, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Nong told reporters that climate change “is a challenge common to all mankind.”
“[A China vai] exchange views with the United States of America (USA) on issues related to climate change and work with them to solve problems and improve the well-being of current and future generations,” he added.
The climate dialogue was interrupted almost a year ago after China suspended it in protest of a visit to Taiwan by Nancy Pelosi, then speaker of the US House of Representatives (lower house of Congress).
The political environment between the two powers now seems to be recovering, even if Washington wants to show its firmness in this area.
On Sunday, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan stressed that John Kerry would travel to China to urge Beijing “not to hide behind the claim that it is a developing country,” thereby undermining the global commitment to combat climate change. .
“All countries, including China, have an obligation to reduce their emissions,” Sullivan insisted.
“The world should further encourage China – and even put pressure on it – to take much more drastic measures to reduce its emissions,” he stressed on the same occasion.
The adviser added that the world’s second-largest economy “still has work to do in this area.”
Senior US officials have made several visits to China in recent months to improve diplomatic relations, with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken visiting the country in June and US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen visiting earlier this month.
Kerry’s trip to the country, his third since taking office in 2021, comes at a time when the impact of climate change is being felt most acutely around the world, with many parts of the world alternating between heatwaves and heavy rains.
The US administration, led by President Joe Biden, sees climate change as one area in which the two powers, fiercely competing in several areas, can cooperate.
“Kerry’s visit and the resumption of climate talks highlight the critical importance of a coordinated effort to tackle the climate crisis,” Chongping Xie, a researcher at the Grantham Climate Change and Environment Research Institute, said in a statement to the French news agency. (AFP).
“It is also proof of a shared determination to navigate complex geopolitical relationships for the common good,” he said.
China, the world’s number one greenhouse gas emitter, has committed to peaking CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.
Chinese President Xi Jinping also promised to reduce the use of coal from 2026.
However, in April, the authorities gave the green light to a further expansion of coal-fired power plants, casting doubt on the country’s ability to meet its climate targets.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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