Without China and US ‘we won’t win the battle’ to cut emissions, John Kerry told UN climate conference

China and the USAwhere the two of them are responsible for 40% of global gas emissions that cause the greenhouse effect, intend to continue their cooperation on the 28th UN climate conference in Dubai, US envoy John Kerry said today, on the eve of the start of its operations.

“We are second, they are first” in greenhouse gas emissions, and “without aggressive action by China and the United States to reduce emissions, we will not win this battle,” he stressed, from Dubai, John Kerry during a press briefing.

“We decided to work together for the success of this conference UN for Climate,” he added, making a reference to his last meeting, in early November, with his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua, as reported by APE-MPE.

Talks “will continue over the next few days in Dubai,” according to the US envoy who called on the two countries to “accelerate” action to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. as recommended by the 2015 Paris Agreement. China is the world’s top emitter today but, taking into account countries’ cumulative emissions over time, it comes in second, behind USA.

In an interview with AFP in September, the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA), Fatih Birol, had called on the US and China to put aside their “geopolitical and economic tensions” during COP28. After months of secret talks, the two countries issued a joint climate statement in November in which they presented many axes of coordination, mainly on methane, the second largest greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide. The announcement outlined common goals for COP28.

One of the most long-awaited decisions, to be formally taken by consensus, will be the drawing up of the first “report” of the Paris Agreement. This report must “win the world’s trust by being honest, robust, visionary and complete,” said John Kerry, stressing that the US will push to include “acceleration of the exit from ‘inexhaustible’ fossil fuels” , i.e. fuels that are burned without capturing or storing carbon dioxide. I am confident that we will make progress, the question is, to what extent? (…) We will judge the tree by the fruit”, he said.