At a surprise
announcement in the last days of the COP26 summit, the world’s two largest
emitters — China and the United States — said they will work together to slow
warming during this decade and ensure that the Glasgow climate conference ends
in success.
In announcing
the “Declaration for Enhanced Climate Action in the 2020s” China’s special
climate envoy Xie Zhenhua said the two countries will reiterate the importance
of the Paris temperature goal of limiting warming to well below 2 degrees
Celsius, with a goal of not exceeding 1.5 degrees.
With just a
few days remaining to reach a COP26 agreement, he said the countries are
focused on developing transparency regulations for reporting and tracking
emissions and developing rules for a carbon market.
“Both sides
recognize there is a gap between the current efforts and the Paris agreement
goals,” Xie said in a news conference.
As the
world’s two superpowers, he continued, the U.S. and China must work together on
keeping the world a peaceful place.
“We need to
think big and be responsible,” he said. “We must address climate change
and, through cooperation, bring more benefits to our two countries and to people
around the world.”
At his own
news conference immediately after Xie’s, U.S. special climate envoy John F.
Kerry called the declaration “a step we can build on in order to help close the
gap” on emissions.
“The United
States and China have many differences,” he added. “But on climate, cooperation
is the only way to get this job done.”
The joint
declaration is a product of nearly three dozen negotiating sessions, with
diplomats from China and the U.S. meeting in person and virtually over the
course of the year.
In a tweet,
U.N. secretary general Antonio Guterres said he “welcomed” the agreement.
“Tackling the
climate crisis requires international cooperation and solidarity, and this is
an important step in the right direction,” he wrote.
Few details
were immediately available about the implications of the declaration. For
example, it did not identify an early date at which China’s carbon emissions
will peak. Currently the country has said it plans to start decreasing
emissions by 2030, or earlier if it can.
But, Kerry
said, China will develop a plan to reduce its methane emissions and to phase
down coal “as fast as is achievable.”
It is a first
recognition from Beijing about the importance of methane in driving up warming.
One European
negotiator said in a text message, speaking on condition of anonymity, “The significance of the U.S.-China
accord is no guarantee that the broader talks in Glasgow will succeed”.
From The Washington Post (edited)
