United States: The US and China have agreed to triple renewable energy capacity globally by 2030 in line with the intention expressed in the G20 Declaration issued this September.
Additionally, they have suggested that this decade will see a peak in their emissions from the power sector. China and the US are the top fossil fuel producers.
“Both countries support the G20 Leaders Declaration to pursue efforts to triple renewable energy capacity globally by 2030 and intend to sufficiently accelerate renewable energy deployment in their respective economies through 2030 from 2020 levels so as to accelerate the substitution for coal, oil, and gas generation,” they said in a joint statement titled ‘Sunnylands Statement on Enhancing Cooperation to Address the Climate Crisis.’
They also expect that this decade will see a post-peaking reduction in emissions from the power sector. These decisions were taken in a meeting held between the US special presidential envoy for climate Mr. John Kerry and China’s special envoy for climate change Mr. Xie Zhenhua at Sunnylands, California last week.
According to the statement, “The US and China recognize that the climate crisis has increasingly affected countries around the world. Alarmed by the best available scientific findings including the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, the US and China remain committed to the effective implementation of the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement, reflecting equity and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, in light of different national circumstances, to achieve the Paris Agreement’s aim in accordance with its Article 2 to hold the global average temperature increase to well below 2 ºC and to pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5 ºC .”
“The two countries aim to advance at least 5 large-scale cooperative carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) projects each by 2030, including from industrial and energy sources,” as per the statement.
Another important development is that the US and China have noted the expectation of the developed countries that the $100 billion goal will be met in 2023.
“Reaffirm the urging of developed country Parties to at least double their provision of adaptation finance, anticipate the adoption by COP 29 of the new collective quantified goal, and make finance flows consistent with the Paris Agreement goals,” the statement added.
The US-China statement was issued a few days before the UN Climate Summit (COP28), and a number of scientific reports have indicated that the world is not on track to meet the 1.5 ºC goal of the Paris Agreement.
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