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In the framework of negotiations on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions at the United Nations Conference on Climate Change in 2021 (COP26), the United States and China agreed to cooperate to address the climate crisis. The pact is seen as an incentive to make stronger agreements during the summit, which so far are seen by many activists and experts as insufficient.
The two largest emitters of carbon dioxide in the world, the United States and China, agreed to intensify cooperation to address the climate crisis. Both parties pledged to reduce methane emissions, eliminate carbon consumption, and protect forests.
This Tuesday, the countries ‘commitment was announced by the United States’ climate envoy, John Kerry, and his Chinese counterpart, Xie Zhenhua, through a press conference.
On the US side, Kerry declared: “the two largest economies in the world have agreed to work together.” He also said that he hoped the agreement would be an incentive for COP26 to be successful and acknowledged that there is still a “long way to go”.
As for China, Xie said it is a step for the Asian country to strengthen its emission reduction targets.
“It is beneficial not only for our two countries, but for the world in general, that two great powers of the world, China and the United States, assume special international responsibilities and obligations,” announced the Chinese special envoy.
China and the US would share technology to fight the climate crisis
Also, for the first time, China agreed to take energy measures to counter methane leaks.
The two parties also pledged to share technology to reduce emissions and to meet gradually to formulate concrete actions during this decade that, as they recognized, will be key to combat the climate emergency.
It is not the first time that the two countries collaborate on climate issues. In 2014, a bilateral commitment was one of the most important impulses to reach the Paris agreements in 2015. Global pacts that continue to be exalted during this year’s summit.
However, cooperation between the two sides came to a halt when former US President Donald Trump ignored the Paris Agreement. And after a rise in tension in US-China relations during the Trump era.
A “hopeful” pact, but with some shortcomings
The agreement has been applauded by the European Union and the UN. The vice president of the European Commission for the Green Deal, Frans Timmermans, told the Reuters news agency that it is a pact that gives rise to hope.
He also spoke on his Twitter account: “It is really encouraging to see that those countries that were in disagreement in so many areas have found common ground on what is the greatest challenge facing humanity today.”
Good news that US and China have found a common ground on climate. This is a challenge which transcends politics. Bilateral cooperation between the two biggest global emitters should boost negotiations at # COP26. Now we must find the global deal that keeps 1.5 degrees alive.
– Frans Timmermans (@TimmermansEU) November 10, 2021
For his part, UN Secretary General António Guterres said in a tweet that “tackling the climate crisis requires international collaboration and solidarity, and this is an important step in the right direction.”
I welcome today’s agreement between China and the USA to work together to take more ambitious #ClimateAction in this decade.
Tackling the climate crisis requires international collaboration and solidarity, and this is an important step in the right direction. # COP26
– António Guterres (@antonioguterres) November 10, 2021
According to Thom Woodroofe, an expert on the US-China climate negotiations, it is a milestone that opens up the possibilities for a climate dialogue. “It means that the intense level of dialogue between the United States and China on climate can now begin to translate into cooperation,” he said.
However, several environmentalists and NGOs noted that the pact has several pending. Among them is the exclusion of commitments on oil and gas.
So believes the Chinese policy analyst for the European think tank E3G, Byford Tsang. “It is a good sign that the world’s two largest emitters can work together to face humanity’s greatest crisis, but there is not much meat after methane,” he concluded.
An incentive for stronger deals at COP26?
Despite the shortcomings, many have seen the agreement as an incentive to bet on stronger deals at the summit. The pact takes place in the framework of negotiations between governments on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions based on the Paris Agreement.
Shortly before, the head of the UN climate conference had warned that the agreements reached so far were not enough to stop the climate emergency. This, taking into account that the objective of the summit is to be able to limit the global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
Exceeding this limit, according to data reported by Reuters, could lead to greater floods, forest fires and storms, as well as a significant rise in sea level, among other extreme weather events.
With that goal on the table, the Climate Action Tracker research group told Reuters on Tuesday that, if all the targets presented so far at the Summit are met, the earth’s temperature would be rising by 2.4 degrees Celsius by 2100.
With Reuters, EFE and AP
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