China, U.S. issue joint declaration on enhancing climate action

Aerial photo taken on July 7, 2021 shows citizens walking at Guanshanhu Park in Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)

Noting that they have further recognize the seriousness and urgency of the climate crisis, the two countries said in the declaration that they are committed to tackling the crisis through their respective accelerated actions in the critical decade of the 2020s, as well as through cooperation in multilateral processes, including the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) process, to avoid catastrophic impacts.

GLASGOW, Britain, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- China and the United States on Wednesday released the China-U.S. Joint Glasgow Declaration on Enhancing Climate Action in the 2020s here at the ongoing 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Noting that they have further recognize the seriousness and urgency of the climate crisis, the two countries said in the declaration that they are committed to tackling the crisis through their respective accelerated actions in the critical decade of the 2020s, as well as through cooperation in multilateral processes, including the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) process, to avoid catastrophic impacts.

The two sides also stressed the vital importance of closing the gap between efforts being made around the world and those that need to be taken to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement.

They declared their intention to work individually, jointly, and with other countries, in accordance with different national circumstances, to strengthen and accelerate climate action and cooperation aimed at closing the gap, including accelerating the green and low-carbon transition and climate technology innovation.

Aerial photo taken on Nov. 3, 2021 shows a wind power field in Luduo Township of Baoying County of Yangzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province. (Xinhua/Li Bo)

In this aspect, their intended cooperation fields include regulatory frameworks and environmental standards related to reducing emissions of greenhouse gases in the 2020s, maximizing the societal benefits of the clean energy transition, policies to encourage decarbonization and electrification of end-use sectors, as well as key areas related to the circular economy, such as green design and renewable resource utilization.

Recognizing specifically the significant role that emissions of methane play in increasing temperatures, both countries considered increased action to control and reduce such emissions to be a matter of necessity in the 2020s.

On the other hand, to reduce CO2 emissions, the two countries said they intend to cooperate in such areas as policies that support the effective integration of high shares of low-cost intermittent renewable energy, transmission policies that encourage efficient balancing of electricity supply and demand across broad geographies, distributed generation policies that encourage integration of solar, storage, and other clean power solutions closer to electricity users, as well as energy efficiency policies and standards to reduce electricity waste.

With respect to COP26, both countries expressed support for an ambitious, balanced, and inclusive outcome on mitigation, adaptation, and support.

Photo taken on Nov. 9, 2021 shows a poster at the ongoing 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Glasgow, Scotland, the United Kingdom. (Xinhua/Han Yan)

Both countries recognized the importance of the commitment made by developed countries to the goal of mobilizing jointly 100 billion U.S. dollars per year by 2020 and annually through 2025 to address the needs of developing countries, in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency on implementation, and stressed the importance of meeting that goal as soon as possible.

The two sides also agreed to establish a working group on enhancing climate action in the 2020s, which will meet regularly to address the climate crisis and advance the multilateral process, focusing on enhancing concrete actions in this decade.