US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry and China Special Envoy for Climate Change Xie Zhenhua have issued a joint statement committing both countries to action on a range of issues
At the conclusion of a 14-15 April 2021 meeting in Shanghai, they said the US and China would work together to address the climate crisis.
In the statement, they said, “The US and China are committed to co-operating with each other and with other countries to tackle the climate crisis, which must be addressed with the seriousness and urgency it demands.
“This includes enhancing their respective actions and co-operating in multilateral processes, including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement. Both countries recall their historic contribution to the development, adoption, signature, and entry into force of the Paris Agreement through their leadership and collaboration.
“Moving forward, the US and China are firmly committed to working together and with other parties to strengthen implementation of the Paris Agreement. The two sides recall the Agreement’s aim in accordance with Article 2 to hold the global average temperature increase to well below 2°C and to pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5°C.
“In that regard, they are committed to pursuing such efforts, including by taking enhanced climate actions that raise ambition in the 2020s in the context of the Paris Agreement with the aim of keeping the above temperature limit within reach and co-operating to identify and address related challenges and opportunities.
“Both countries look forward to the US-hosted Leaders Summit on Climate on 22-23 April. They share the Summit’s goal of raising global climate ambition on mitigation, adaptation, and support on the road to COP 26 in Glasgow.”
The statement went on to say the US and China will take other actions in the short term to further contribute to addressing the climate crisis. Both countries intend to develop, by COP 26 in Glasgow, their respective long-term strategies aimed at net-zero greenhouse gas emissions/carbon neutrality.
Both countries also intend to take appropriate actions to maximise international investment and finance in support of the transition from carbon-intensive fossil fuel-based energy to green, low-carbon and renewable energy.
The US and China said they will continue to discuss, both on the road to COP 26 and beyond, concrete actions in the 2020s to reduce emissions aimed at keeping the Paris Agreement-aligned temperature limit within reach. This will include policies, measures, and technologies to decarbonise industry and power, including through circular economy, energy storage and grid reliability, carbon capture, utilisation and storage and green hydrogen; increased deployment of renewable energy; and numerous other measures such as green, low-carbon transportation and co-operation on addressing emissions from international civil aviation and maritime activity.
“The two sides will co-operate to promote a successful COP 26 in Glasgow, aiming to complete the implementation arrangements for the Paris Agreement (under Article 6 and Article 13) and to significantly advance global climate ambition on mitigation, adaptation, and support,” the joint statement said. “They will further co-operate to promote a successful COP 15 of the Convention on Biological Diversity in Kunming, noting the importance of the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, including its relevance to climate mitigation and adaptation.”
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