The Chinese foreign ministry has announced that China President Xi Jinping will attend a virtual climate change summit hosted by his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden on Thursday. After years of worsening relations on various issues, his presence is a sign of collaboration between the U.S. and China and Beijing's intention to take a leadership role on the subject.
China's Xi Jinping to attend Biden's climate summit
Xi Jinping will attend the Earth Day virtual summit of 40 world leaders and give a speech via video link, according to Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying. Despite their escalating rivalry in almost every other part of their bilateral relations, climate change is seen as one place where China and the U.S. should collaborate.
Last week in Shanghai, U.S. Special Envoy for Climate Change John Kerry met with his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua and Vice-Premier Han Zheng, at which the two sides pledged to work together to address the climate crisis. On the other hand, China has ramped it up, with Han urging the U.S. to take on more responsibility.
In a phone conversation with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud on Tuesday, Xi Jinping said that countries should have different obligations regarding climate change. According to SCMP, climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic are significant threats in which countries can collaborate to develop a joint solution, Xi said.
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He went on to say that the Paris Agreement on climate change should be fully and effectively implemented. China believes that developed countries should do more to combat climate change while emerging countries should meet their carbon emission reduction targets. Last year, Xi declared that China, the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, will achieve carbon neutrality by 2030 and reach a peak in carbon dioxide emissions by 2060.
Under the Trump presidency, the United States withdrew from the Paris Climate Accord, which China has criticized. During Kerry's visit, Zhao Lijian, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said the United States is to blame for the agreement's slow progress. On Thursday and Friday, the United States will host a summit of 40 world leaders.
According to the White House, the interactive meeting will draw 17 countries responsible for 80 percent of global emissions and gross domestic product. Biden would commit to reducing U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions by at least half by the end of the decade, quoting two people briefed on the initiative, as per Bloomberg via MSN.
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Biden's summit targets countries representing 60% global economy
According to John Kerry, the Biden administration's top climate diplomat, countries covering about 60 percent of global GDP are expected to announce more ambitious plans to reduce emissions at this week's climate summit. During a virtual event organized by the sustainable investment company Ceres on Tuesday, Kerry said about 60 percent of global GDP is "lined up to go on Thursday to make announcements that are going to massively lift their ambition."
During the summit, the U.S. will announce its latest pledge to cut emissions under the Paris climate agreement. Kerry has been rushing to win stronger climate commitments from other countries in recent weeks, but he has not had the same success with big emitters like China and India.
Kerry's remarks on Tuesday indicated that the Biden administration has successfully persuaded several countries to join the U.S. in announcing more challenging climate targets at this week's summit. He named Canada and Japan as countries that are likely to make more substantial commitments, Washington Examiner reported.
Biden hosted Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide for a bilateral meeting at the White House last week, during which the two leaders announced a new climate and clean energy alliance. Consultations between the two countries on 2030 national reduction goals and collaborations to implement low-carbon technology like carbon capture, hydrogen, and advanced nuclear power are part of this program.
Some countries are not ready for the climate summit to take place. On Tuesday, the United Kingdom declared that it intends to codify a new target of reducing emissions by 78 percent by 2035 compared to 1990 levels. This goal draws on the United Kingdom's current pledge to reduce emissions by 68 percent by 2030 under the Paris Agreement.
