According to the Emissions database for global atmospheric research, European Commission database, China emitted 33% of carbon dioxide emissions in 2021, ranking first. And although the US emissions are less than half that of China, 13% of the global total, it is the second responsible for these emissions.
John Kerry, the US climate envoy, arrived in Beijing on Sunday and He will remain in China until Wednesday with the ambition to resume dialogue on environmental issues, as they have not spoken bilaterally on combating climate change for nearly a year. A meeting between the senior US official and his Chinese counterpart, Xie Zhenhua, is scheduled for Wednesday.
Kerry comes at a time when the impact of climate change is being felt, with heat waves in many parts of the northern hemisphere and floods in Asia.
In August 2022, Beijing suspended talks with Washington on climate change in protest of the visit to Taiwan of Nancy Pelosi, then Speaker of the US House of Representatives.
China’s public television CCTV said, without elaborating, when reporting on Kerry’s arrival in Beijing, starting Monday, “China and the United States will in-depth exchange positions” on climate issues.
The former US Secretary of State enjoys a friendly and unbroken relationship with China, and now occupies a key position, as the Biden administration considers the climate to be one of the areas in which the two powers can cooperate, beyond their rivalry in other areas.
The State Department added that the senior official will talk about “strengthening ambitions and implementation” of climate rules, and “promoting the successful COP28 conference” to be held in Dubai at the end of the year.
China is the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, despite its promise to reach a cap on carbon dioxide emissions by 2030, and to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. President Xi Jinping has also confirmed that his country will reduce coal consumption from 2026.
With Agence France-Presse
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