greenhouse

As extreme weather grips much of the world, the two largest greenhouse gas emitters meet in Beijing.

After four hours of talks with his Chinese counterpart in Beijing, US climate envoy John Kerry called for “urgent action” to address the climate crisis, as the two countries restarted stalled diplomacy on reducing global warming emissions.

“In the next three days, we hope to begin taking some big steps that will send a signal to the world about China and the United States’ serious intention to address a common risk, threat, and challenge to all of humanity created by humans,” Kerry said after the talks on Monday, noting the spread of storms and fires as extreme weather grips much of the world.

After political tensions stalled the climate talks last year, the world’s two largest greenhouse gas emitters restarted them.

“The climate crisis requires that the world’s two largest economies work together to limit global warming,” Kerry tweeted after meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Xie Zhenhua, for a one-on-one dinner on Sunday night.

Following the talks, Beijing stated that “climate change is a common challenge confronting all humanity.”

According to foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning, China will “exchange views with the United States on issues related to climate change and work together to meet challenges and improve the wellbeing of current and future generations.”

China has pledged to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, despite being the leading emitter of the greenhouse gases causing climate change.

President Xi Jinping has also stated that China will reduce its use of coal beginning in 2026.

However, Beijing approved a significant increase in coal power in April, which Greenpeace said prioritized energy supply over the pledge to reduce emissions, fueling concerns that China will fall short of its targets.

While China has been the largest manufacturer and deployer of wind and solar energy, both Beijing and Washington are “strongly addicted to the burning of fossil fuels,” according to Li Shuo, global policy adviser for Greenpeace in East Asia.

“At this point, the climate crisis is unavoidable,” Shuo told Arab news. “Looking at the summer we’re having around the world, it really drives home the message of climate urgency.”

This month, global temperatures reached alarming highs, and extreme weather proliferated, prompting scientists to declare that the goal of keeping global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels is becoming unattainable.

Prolonged high temperatures in China are endangering power grids and crops, raising fears of a repeat of last year’s drought, which was the worst in 60 years.

A quarter of the population in the United States is under extreme heat advisories, owing in part to a heat dome that has settled over western states.

Together working for climate

Kerry’s visit comes on the heels of two high-profile visits by US officials, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, both of which aimed to improve US-China relations.

Talks were halted in August after Nancy Pelosi, then-Speaker of the US House of Representatives, enraged Beijing by visiting self-ruled Taiwan, which China considers to be part of its territory.

Kerry’s visit, according to Arab news Katrina Yu, “comes amidst heightened tensions between the US and on a range of issues including trade, Taiwan, and the war in Ukraine.” According to analysts, both must set aside their differences and collaborate on climate change in order to set a positive example ahead of the COP28 conference in Dubai later this year.”

While China stated that cooperation with the US on climate change was “generally good,” issues remained. “China accuses the United States of unfairly criticizing its climate record while failing to meet its own commitments, including financing developing countries,” Yu said.

China has rebuffed US calls to do more to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, claiming that it is a developing country with historically lower emissions than the US.
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