United States: China and the US have vowed to take measures to stop global warming in a joint statement. It came ahead of the US President, Mr. Joe Biden, and Chinese President, Mr. Xi Jinping, meeting in San Francisco.
According to the State Department, they plan to tackle global warming by ramping up wind, solar and other renewable energy to displace fossil fuels.
The Mr. Biden and Mr. Xi summit aims to ease the turmoil between the two countries, including trade, human rights, and the future of Taiwan. Mr. Xi has already arrived in San Francisco for the summit.
“The United States and China recognize that the climate crisis has increasingly affected countries around the world. They will work together… to rise up to one of the greatest challenges of our time for present and future generations of humankind.” the statement said.
A recent UN report warned that countries planning to expand the fossil fuel industry would push the world far beyond the Paris deal’s 1.5 ºC global warming limit. Furthermore, the report also cited that the world’s fossil fuel producers are doubling their production against Net Zero by 2050. China and the US are the top fossil fuel producers.
Moreover, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has cautioned that an immediate reduction in methane emissions is necessary to reduce global warming.
US and Chinese climate envoys, Mr. John Kerry and Mr. Xie Zhenhua, met this month at the Sunnylands resort in California to restart cooperation, as per the statement.