Sunnyland Statement Released Ahead of Biden-Xi Jinping Summit
On the 15th (local time), one day before the summit between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, the United States and China issued a joint statement pledging to strengthen cooperation in responding to the climate crisis.
From the 4th to the 7th of this month, the U.S.-China Sunnylands Statement on Enhancing Cooperation in Addressing the Climate Crisis was released, summarizing the results of talks between John Kerry, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, and Xie Zhenhua, China’s Special Envoy for Climate Change, held in Sunnylands, California. Although the two countries expressed differing views on some issues such as the phased elimination of fossil fuels, they agreed to establish a bilateral climate working group.
In the statement, the U.S. and China emphasized, "Both countries will implement the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement, uphold the principle of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, and, considering different national circumstances, strive to achieve the goals of the Agreement by limiting the global average temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius and pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5 degrees Celsius in accordance with Article 2 of the Paris Agreement."
They further stated, "We support the joint declaration of the Group of Twenty (G20) to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030 and expect renewable energy generation to reach sufficiently high levels to replace coal, oil, natural gas, and other fossil fuel power generation."
John Kerry, U.S. Presidential Special Envoy for Climate (left in photo), and Han Zheng, Vice Premier of China. [Image source=AP Yonhap News]
The two countries also agreed to activate the "2020s Climate Action Enhancement Working Group," jointly chaired by their climate envoys and involving relevant government departments from both sides.
The working group will focus on key cooperation areas such as energy transition, methane, circular economy, efficient resource use, and deforestation. It will also be responsible for exchanging information and sharing experiences on emission control and reduction policies and measures, identifying and implementing cooperation areas, and evaluating the implementation of joint statements and declarations, including this statement.
The two countries will resume energy policy and strategy dialogues, enhance exchanges on agreed agendas, and strengthen practical cooperation including private sector activities. They also agreed to reopen the U.S.-China Energy Efficiency Forum to deepen exchanges on energy-saving and carbon reduction policies in key sectors such as industry, construction, transportation, and facilities.
Foreign media assessed that this development signifies the normalization of the climate dialogue and cooperation channels between the two countries, which had been blocked following the extreme deterioration of U.S.-China relations after former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in August last year.
The New York Times (NYT) noted, "It is significant that China has agreed for the first time to reduce emissions not only of carbon dioxide but also of methane and nitrous oxide, which contribute to global warming." Previously, under the leadership of the U.S. and the European Union (EU), 150 countries worldwide pledged to reduce methane emissions by 30% by 2030 through the "Global Methane Pledge," but China did not participate.
This agreement was announced just before the U.S.-China summit between President Biden and President Xi, scheduled to be held on the 15th in San Francisco. The 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) will open on the 30th of this month in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
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