In a joint statement issued Sunday, Washington and Beijing said the climate crisis “must be addressed seriously and urgently” and agreed to work together to “strengthen” the implementation of the Paris Agreement.
“The United States and China will continue to discuss, both on the road to COP 26 and beyond, concrete actions in the 2020s to reduce emissions aimed at keeping the temperature limit aligned with the Paris Agreement within reach,” said the release.
The announcement followed two days of talks between US Presidential Special Envoy for Climate John Kerry and China’s Special Envoy for Climate Change Xie Zhenhua in Shanghai on Thursday and Friday.
In a statement Sunday, China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment said the talks between Kerry and Xie had been “sincere, profound and constructive.”
“Both sides recognize that climate change is a serious and urgent threat to the survival and development of humanity,” the ministry said, adding that China and the United States “will strengthen cooperation and work together with other parties to address the crisis. climatic “.
The ministry also said that the two countries “will further strengthen exchanges and cooperation in areas such as strengthening policy measures, promoting low-carbon and green transitions, and supporting energy and low-carbon development of developing countries”.