UN Secretary-General António Guterres has welcomed the announcement that China and the United States have agreed to collaborate more closely on climate action, saying it is an important step in the right direction.
News of the joint declaration between the two countries, both major emitters of greenhouse gases, came on Wednesday at the ongoing 2021 UN climate conference, COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland.
In Paris in 2015, leaders pledged to try to keep the world from warming by more than between 1.5C to 2C through sweeping emissions cuts.
In his tweet, Guterres welcomed the agreement by China and the U.S. to work together to take more ambitious climate action in this decade, and noted that the crisis requires international collaboration and solidarity.
Following the surprise announcement, the top climate envoys of both countries held back-to-back news conferences at COP26.
“There is more agreement between the U.S. and China than divergence, making it an area of huge potential for cooperation,” China’s climate envoy, Xie Zhenhua, said.
“By working together our two countries can achieve many important things that are beneficial not only to our two countries but the world as a whole.”
Up next, U.S. Special Climate Envoy John Kerry, said he was “pleased” about the agreement between the two countries and added: “Every step matters right now, and we have a long journey ahead of us.” (NAN)
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