U.S. and China Announce Surprise Climate Change Deal

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Jun 28, 2010
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US and China announce surprise climate agreement​

Earlier in the day, the COP26 presidency published a draft agreement for the summit. It includes language that says the world should be aiming to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and acknowledges the role of fossil fuels in the climate crisis, which would be a first for the annual summit.

When asked whether China would move up its date to peak its greenhouse gas emissions, which currently is before 2030, Kerry said US officials believe that China may have already peaked its emissions and that emissions have plateaued.

"President Xi has set a timeframe for when he believes he can peak, and we had lots of discussions about peaking," Kerry said. "What we wanted to make sure was that when China begins that process that it has accepted under its announced plan, that we could try to accelerate and China accepted that they will make the best efforts to accelerate the work of phasing down."

"There is more agreement between the US and China than divergence, making it an area of huge potential for cooperation," China climate envoy Xie Zhenhua said at a news conference. "The release of this joint statement shows again that cooperation is the only choice for both China and the United States. By working together our two countries can achieve many important things that are beneficial not only to our two countries but the world as a whole."

China, US announce agreement on climate crisis at COP26 - CNN
 
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