John Kerry optimistic about China's 'strong' language on climate crisis following talks

It’s rare that China and the United States are on the same page these days, but it appears the two powers made some progress when it comes to addressing climate climate change this last week.

In a joint statement on Sunday, Washington and Beijing announced they have agreed to cooperate with each other and other countries to “tackle the climate crisis.” They will keep discussing “concrete actions in the 2020s to reduce emissions aimed at keeping the Paris Agreement-aligned temperature limits within reach.”

Prior to the release of the statement, John Kerry, the Biden administration’s climate envoy, traveled to Shanghai last week to meet with his Beijing counterpart, Xie Zhenhua. Kerry said Sunday that his discussions were productive, noting that “this is the first time China has joined in” calling climate change a “crisis.” He also expressed optimism about the Chinese delegation saying the issue must be met with with “urgency” and the fact that they talked about “enhancing” their emissions reduction goals. The language, at least, is “strong,” Kerry said.

Li Shuo, the senior climate adviser for Greenpeace, said the joint statement “is as positive as the politics would allow,” given that before its release the message of coopration was not one “we could assume.”

President Biden will host a virtual climate change summit this week, with many world leaders expected to attend. Chinese President Xi Jinping has not formally confirmed his participation, but people familiar with the matter said he’ll be there, The Wall Street Journal reports. Read more at The Wall Street Journal and Reuters.

More stories from theweek.com
The new HBO show you won’t be able to stop watching
The question that will decide the Chauvin case
5 colossally funny cartoons about Biden’s infrastructure plan

source: yahoo.com