The US-China Joint Glasgow Declaration follows a flurry of diplomacy. My hopes were raised when I saw John Kerry sit down with Xie Zhenhua and other officials in the China delegation office last week. At the time I tweeted “Fingers crossed that chief negotiators of worlds two biggest emitters can work together and nudge the world closer to 1.5C climate target.”
Just saw John Kerry sitting down with Xie Zhenhua. Fingers crossed that chief negotiators of worlds two biggest emitters 🇨🇳🇺🇸 can work together and nudge the world closer to 1.5C climate target.
I’d also heard from sources in China that the two climate diplomats held a convivial meeting in London shortly before the conference started. The foundations for an agreement were coming together. In an interview last week, senior adviser Wang Yi made clear China could peak coal use by 2025. He also said China was taking domestic action on methane and other non-carbon dioxide greenhouse gases, though on principle it did not sign up to last week’s Glasgow alliance on this subject because it felt developed nations should take the lead. That position appears to have softened in this agreement, which Kerry will be able to take back to Washington as a sign that the two nations can work together on climate, even if they remain at odds in other areas of gepolitics. This has got to be a boost for negotiations in Glasgow. The biggest historical emitter (USA) and the biggest current emitter (China) have sent a strong signal they will scale back together. That has made my day. No meaningful deal is possible without them. Now, let’s see how far they are willing to go.
Bernice Lee, an expert in environment and climate politics from Chatham House think tank, said:
It can only be good news that the US and China are working closely on climate change and slashing methane emissions. Details remain patchy but this declaration should dissolve any fears that US-China tensions will stand in the way of success at COP26. But the statement is not enough to close the deal. The real test of Washington and Beijing is how hard they push for a 1.5C aligned deal here in Glasgow.
Thom Woodroofe, a former climate diplomat and now fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute working on US-China climate cooperation, says the declaration by the two countries is an important acknowledgement by the two big emitters “that more needs to be done and of their responsibility to do more”. But he says it is also an acknowledgement of the shortcomings of the outcome expected in Glasgow, and the extent to which the world is relying on what happens next. ”While this is not a game-changer in the way the 2014 US-China climate deal was, in many ways it’s just as much of a step forward given the geopolitical state of the relationship. It means the intense level of US-China dialogue on climate can now begin to translate into cooperation. ”Both sides benefit from this. For the US, it shows they are coming away from Glasgow with at least a signal by China that they hope to be able to do more this decade and with ways to hold their feet to the fire. For China, it helps stem the perception they came to Glasgow entirely empty handed. It will also be a helpful shot in the arm for the final COP26 negotiations over the coming days and helps smooth the runway for next week’s Biden-Xi call. ”The big substantive outcome here is China’s affirmation of acting in line with the Paris temperature goals, to ‘make best efforts to accelerate’ a decrease in coal consumption and joining the tent on methane reductions (but stopping short of signing the recent global methane pledge).”
Back in the press conference Kerry says that there are lots of people around the world “ready to come to the table” and that together they will be able to move things forward much faster. “If we work hard we can take this to a better level.”
Meanwhile E3G chief executive Nick Mabey said: “The big significance of this is geopolitical. US & China have signalled they will end the wars of words that marred the past days. They will now build climate cooperation bilaterally & in multilateral fora. This high profile commitment puts pressure on both countries to move their positions to make COP 26 a success.”
Kerry said the US and China had been honest with each other. He said both presidents had made it clear that while there were differences on many issues between the two countries they were determined to work together on the climate crisis which he said was the most pressing issue facing the world. “We are stepping up,” he added.
John Kerry is now speaking. He says out of the co-operation between China and the US will accelerate the reduction in emissions. He said people could leave Glasgow with people working together to solve the issue of climate change and that is the road US and China had chosen.
China and the US announced a surprise plan to work together on cutting greenhouse gas emissions in the crucial next decade, in a strong boost to the Cop26 summit, as negotiators wrangled over a draft outcome.
The world’s two biggest emitters had been trading insults since before the start 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.
Xie Zhenhua, China’s head of delegation, said: “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.”
The China US Glasgow Declaration on Enhancing Climate Action in the 2020s came despite growing political tensions between the two powers, that had been reflected in the climate talks. In his parting shot at the conference, Joe Biden on Tuesday slammed China’s president Xi Jinping for “not turning up”. After that, Xie took a swipe at the US in an interview with the Guardian, saying: “We are not like some countries who withdrew from the Paris Agreement after entering into talks.”
Reaction on the China US declaration from climate scientist and author Simon Lewis here.
A major fear inside #COP26 presidency was lack of US-China cooperation. Big moment in getting a deal on Paris Rulebook and overall deal. Finance still massive sticking point. https://t.co/o5fJtAVPFc
While we are waiting for Kerry’s press conference to start it is worth saying that this already feels like a big moment at Cop26. The world’s two most powerful countries - and biggest emitters - have done what feels like a fairly far reaching deal setting out ongoing co-operation over the next decade across a wide range of issues.
Xie says he hopes to create a global carbon market to enhance efforts to tackle emissions. Then he says that is the end of the press conference as John Kerry is waiting outside and wants to give his briefing.
The full declaration is now available here online. It states:
The United States and China, alarmed by reports including the Working Group I Contribution to the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report released on August 9th, 2021, further recognize the seriousness and urgency of the climate crisis.
And adds:
The two sides intend to cooperate on:
a. regulatory frameworks and environmental standards related to reducing emissions of greenhouse gases in the 2020s;
b. maximizing the societal benefits of the clean energy transition;
c. policies to encourage decarbonization and electrification of end-use sectors;
d. key areas related to the circular economy, such as green design and renewable resource utilization; and
e. deployment and application of technology such as CCUS and direct air capture.
Recognizing specifically the significant role that emissions of methane play in increasing temperatures, both countries consider increased action to control and reduce such emissions to be a matter of necessity in the 2020s. To this end:
a. The two countries intend to cooperate to enhance the measurement of methane emissions; to exchange information on their respective policies and programs for strengthening management and control of methane; and to foster joint research into methane emission reduction challenges and solutions.
b. The United States has announced the U.S. Methane Emissions Reduction Action Plan.
c. Taking into account the above cooperation, as appropriate, the two sides intend to do the following before COP 27:
i. They intend to develop additional measures to enhance methane emission control, at both the national and sub-national levels.
ii. In addition to its recently communicated NDC, China intends to develop a comprehensive and ambitious National Action Plan on methane aiming to achieve a significant effect on methane emissions control and reductions in the 2020s.
d. The United States and China intend to convene a meeting in the first half of 2022 to focus on the specifics of enhancing measurement and mitigation of methane, including through standards to reduce methane from the fossil and waste sectors, as well as incentives and programs to reduce methane from the agricultural sector.
In order to reduce CO2 emissions:
a. The two countries intend to cooperate on:
i. Policies that support the effective integration of high shares of low-cost intermittent renewable energy;
ii. Transmission policies that encourage efficient balancing of electricity supply and demand across broad geographies;
iii. Distributed generation policies that encourage integration of solar, storage, and other clean power solutions closer to electricity users; and
iv. Energy efficiency policies and standards to reduce electricity waste.
b. The United States has set a goal to reach 100% carbon pollution-free electricity by 2035.
c. China will phase down coal consumption during the 15th Five Year Plan and make best efforts to accelerate this work.
Recognizing that eliminating global illegal deforestation would contribute meaningfully to the effort to reach the Paris goals, the two countries welcome the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use. The two sides intend to engage collaboratively in support of eliminating global illegal deforestation through effectively enforcing their respective laws on banning illegal imports.
Xie is now taking questions and said a joint working group between China and the US would meet in the first half of next year and would focus on methane reduction, decarbonisation and deforestation.
China and US to ‘actively address climate change and through co-operation’
Xie said China and US needed to “think big and be responsible” and “actively address climate change and through cooperation” bring huge benefits to people around the world.
It seems like China and US are planning to work together across a wide range of climate issues. Xie Zhenhua said the two countries intended to put their cooperation on a firmer footing in the years ahead.
He said climate change was a common challenge faced by humanity and was an existential threat. He said that on climate change there was more agreement than divergence between China and US and he hoped this new declaration would help make Cop26 a success.
