US climate chief John Kerry has met with various officials in Beijing to try to revive cooperation between the two countries on global warming reduction issues.
The United States and China agreed to maintain close communication after the meeting of the two countries’ envoys on climate issues in Beijing, China’s Environment Ministry reported on Thursday.
China’s climate envoy Xie Zhenhua and his US counterpart John Kerry discussed policies and progress on measures the two countries have taken to combat climate change, the ministry said in a statement.
Kerry arrived in Beijing on Sunday for three days of talks and before departing late Wednesday said negotiations would continue ahead of the COP28 global climate talks in Dubai later this year.
Also read: Kerry calls on China to separate climate and politics
The meetings were aimed at restoring trust between China and the US after climate diplomacy between the world’s two biggest carbon emitters was suspended in August last year after a visit by then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan.
Although no new agreements were reached at the talks, Kerry said the parties had reached consensus on many issues, including the need to reduce methane emissions, say goodbye to coal and the temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels limit level.
“I am very pleased that we have reached a point where China is ready and willing to act aggressively unless someone or something messes it up,” Kerry told reporters.
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