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US-China relations
ChinaDiplomacy

Cop28: China and US to hold summit on methane, non-CO2 greenhouse gases

  • The two leading carbon emitters will team up at UN climate conference to strengthen cooperation as Beijing and Washington aim to stabilise ties
  • The news follows US-China pledge earlier this month to step up joint action to fight global warming

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China’s measures to tackle climate change include promoting structural adjustment in industry, energy and transport, according to environment ministry official Xia Yingxian. Photo: AFP
Phoebe Zhang
China and the US will hold a joint summit on methane and non-carbon dioxide (CO2) greenhouse gases during the UN climate change conference to continue dialogue and strengthen cooperation on key topics, a Chinese environment official said.
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Xia Yingxian, director of the environment ministry’s department of climate change and deputy head of China’s delegation to the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (Cop28), told news outlet The Paper on Monday that China hoped to join all parties to push for a successful “global stocktake” – an evaluation of progress on climate action at the global level.

China’s foreign ministry announced last week that Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang will be in Dubai for the summit from November 30 to December 2. Foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Ding’s attendance would “demonstrate China’s positive response to climate change”.

Climate change cooperation is a key area of consensus between Beijing and Washington as leaders of both countries aim to stabilise ties.
Shortly before Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the US earlier this month, the two sides promised to step up joint action to combat global warming in a deal known as the Sunnylands Statement on Enhancing Cooperation to Address the Climate Crisis.
Under the agreement, the world’s top two carbon emitters vowed to include methane in their respective 2035 emission-cutting plans – the first time China has made such a pledge – and work together to control other non-CO2 greenhouse gas emissions, as well as curb forest loss and plastic pollution.
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“Under the frame of the statements, China and the US will develop specific cooperative plans and projects focusing on energy transition, methane and other non-carbon dioxide greenhouse gases and the circular economy,” Xia said.

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