US, China Issue Climate Statement Ahead of High-Stakes Meeting

U.S. climate envoy John Kerry held talks with his counterpart, Xie Zhenhua, in Beijing on July 17, 2023. Reuters/Screenshot via The Epoch Times

Ahead of a face-to-face meeting between the leaders of China and the United States, U.S. Climate Envoy John Kerry and his Chinese counterpart, Xie Zhenhua, issued a statement stressing the two countries’ commitment to the Paris Agreement and other climate-related policies—but some specifics are lacking.

The Nov. 14 announcement was made just half a month ahead of the next United Nations climate conference, COP28. The meeting will take place in Dubai between Nov. 30 and Dec. 12. China and the United States are the No. 1 and No. 2 sources of greenhouse gas emissions, making them critical players in any international climate negotiations.

In addition, the statement comes as Chinese Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping visits San Francisco, which was cleaned up ahead of his arrival. He and U.S. President Joe Biden are meeting in the course of his visit to the Golden State for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APC) Summit.

That meeting, in turn, follows California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s visit to China.

The stakes are high for the two men. Tensions between the two superpowers have escalated in recent years over trade, human rights, fentanyl, the origins of COVID-19, and the fate of Taiwan. In recent weeks, China has stepped up strategic cooperation with Iran amid the Israel–Hamas war.

While storm clouds gather elsewhere, the climate statement has an optimistic title: “Sunnylands,” named after the California estate once owned by the late media mogul Walter Annenberg, where Mr. Kerry and Mr. Xie met earlier this month.

Yet as China continues to plan, permit, and approve hundreds of new coal plants alongside numerous wind and solar projects, many have remained skeptical of its buy-in on climate policies, particularly the reduction of fossil fuel use.

Indeed, while the statement reaffirms that the United States and China are both committed to tripling renewable energy capacity by 2030, in line with G20 countries’ commitment in New Delhi this September, the statement does not commit either party to specific cuts in the use of coal, oil, or natural gas by 2030 or any other date.

It does indicate that the two seek to “accelerate the substitution for coal, oil, and gas generation” over the next decade by using more renewables.

“It is helpful that the statement reiterates the G20 Leaders’ pledge to triple renewable energy capacity globally by 2030, which now needs to be reflected in a clear commitment in the final COP28 outcome. But it is disappointing that the two nations said nothing about the need to rapidly transition away from fossil fuels this decade, which will be a central issue at the COP28 summit,” said David Waskow of the World Resources Institute, an environmental group.

China had formally suspended talks on climate and other issues with the United States after then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi went to Taiwan in 2022. Mr. Kerry met with Mr. Xie in Beijing earlier this year, setting the stage for renewed cooperation over climate between the two countries.

Some of the statement’s biggest highlights for climate hawks concern methane and other non-carbon dioxide emissions.

Notably, China committed to implementing its first new national methane plan. The country unveiled that plan earlier this month after the Sunnylands meeting. While it outlined goals for the reuse of methane emitted from certain industries, it does not include a target for total methane emission cuts.

China and the United States also “intend to cooperate on respective measures to manage nitrous oxide emissions,” per the Sunnylands statement.

The Sunnylands statement also pledges that countries will move five carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) projects ahead by 2030.

In addition, the two countries committed to cooperation on forest loss, plastic pollution, and the circular economy.

The Chinese ambassador to the United States, Xie Feng, praised the statement on X, formerly Twitter.

“Keep the momentum going!” he wrote on the platform, which is blocked in China.