The Washington Post is reporting as breaking news a joint US-Chinese announcement at COP26 pledging cooperation on climate change mitigation:
WaPo: U.S., China issue joint pledge to slow climate change in the next decade
At a surprise announcement in the waning days of the COP26 summit, the world’s two largest emitters — China and the United States — said they would work together to slow warming during this decade and ensure that the Glasgow climate conference ends in success.
In announcing the “Declaration for Enhanced Climate Action in the 2020s” China’s special climate envoy Xie Zhenhua said the two countries would reiterate the importance of the Paris temperature goal of limiting warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, with a goal of not exceeding 1.5 degrees.
With just a few days remaining to reach a COP26 agreement, he said the countries were focused on developing transparency regulations for reporting and tracking emissions and developing rules for a carbon market.
“Both sides recognize there is a gap between the current efforts and the Paris agreement goals,” Xie said in a news conference Wednesday evening …
As this is a breaking story, I expect to update as more reporting hits the deck.
The Guardian: China and the US announce plan to work together on cutting emissions
…. The world’s two biggest emitters had been trading insults for the first week of the conference, but on Wednesday evening unveiled a joint declaration that would see the world’s two biggest economies cooperate closely on the emissions cuts scientists say are needed in the next ten years to stay within 1.5C.
The remarkable turnaround came as a surprise to the UK hosts, and will send a strong signal to the 190-plus other countries at the talks. China and the US will work together on some key specific areas, such as cutting methane – a powerful greenhouse gas – and emissions from transport, energy and industry.
“Both sides recognise that there is a gap between the current effort and the Paris agreement goals, so we will jointly strengthen our Paris efforts and cooperation … to accelerate a green and low carbon transition,” said Xie Zhenhua, China’s head of delegation. “Climate change is becoming an increasingly urgent challenge. We hope this joint declaration will help to achieve success at Cop26.”
John Kerry said: “The two largest economies in the world have agreed to work together on emissions in this decisive decade.
“This is a roadmap for our countries and future collaboration. China and the US have no shortage of differences. But cooperation is the only way to get this job done. This is about science, about physics.
And trailing the pack …
NYT: COP26 Live Updates: China and U.S. Agree to ‘Enhance’ Climate Ambition
The United States and China agreed on Wednesday to “enhance ambition” on climate change, issuing a joint statement in which both countries agreed to do more to cut emissions this decade and in which China committed for the first time, to address emissions from methane.
Xie Zhenhua, China’s climate change envoy, announced the declaration in a news conference, saying the two countries had jointly issued a “Glasgow declaration” on “enhancing ambition” on climate change in this decade. Mr. Xie called the statement “important” and said the joint effort was “following the spirit and instructions of our two presidents.”
“We both see the challenge of climate change is existential and a severe one,” he said. “As two major powers in the world, China and the United States, we need to take our due responsibility and work together and work with others in the spirit of cooperation to address climate change.”
It was unclear on Wednesday if the announcement marked a step forward in terms of China’s emissions target. China has pledged to peak its emissions “before” 2030 but has not set a firm date, and U.S. officials have been pushing their counterparts to set a clear earlier date.
John Kerry, President Biden’s envoy for climate change, was expected to make a separate announcement about the joint statement later Wednesday, a State Department spokeswoman said.
I think that covers it.
Comment if you wish.