According to U.S. climate envoy John Kerry, the United States and China have reached significant “understandings and agreements” on climate issues ahead of the COP28 talks in Dubai later this month. Kerry revealed that after four days of tough and serious negotiations with his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua at Sunnylands, California, they were able to come to solid agreements that will have a positive impact on the global effort to focus on renewables and other necessary initiatives.
Ensuring collaboration and agreements between the top two economies and greenhouse gas emitters is crucial for the success of COP28, which is expected to address key issues such as climate finance and more ambitious energy transition goals.
Kerry also mentioned that details of the agreements, including an important understanding on climate loss and damage, will be released soon. This understanding would allow any country to contribute to a fund to support regions most vulnerable to climate impacts.
However, much attention will be on China’s ongoing construction of new coal-fired power plants as it is reluctant to commit to concrete targets for cutting fossil fuel use. China’s envoy Xie has expressed concerns about phasing out fossil fuels, citing immature technologies like energy storage.
When asked if he expected any compromise on coal from China, Kerry responded with “You wait and see,” indicating the possibility of progress in this area. He also emphasized that it is irresponsible to fund coal-fired power plants anywhere in the world, despite China’s efforts to move away from coal.
These developments will likely have a significant impact on the discussions at COP28, with Kerry’s assurance that the agreements reached will help propel the world’s focus on renewables and climate action.
(Reporting by David Stanway; Editing by Tom Hogue)
