“The Chinese delegation and Xie Zhenhua, who I’ve known for 25 years or so – he’s my counterpart, their climate envoy – they were serious,” said Kerry, adding that the results of their meeting were expected to be released over the next few days.
‘Nobody is safe’: last 12 months on Earth were hottest ever recorded
‘Nobody is safe’: last 12 months on Earth were hottest ever recorded
Xie, a veteran diplomat, was reappointed to his role as China’s special climate envoy in 2021, after holding positions in the National Development and Reform Commission and the State Environmental Protection Administration. The 74-year-old will reportedly step down in December after the COP28 talks in Dubai.
“We have some tough conversations, we have a few moments where, as in any negotiations, you think it’s all despair and not going to get there,” said Kerry, adding that people should “wait and see” on whether the two sides will come to an accord on China’s coal power development amid a global decline in coal use.
Last year, China issued the most new permits for coal-fired plants since 2015, according to a report from the Finland-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. The centre noted, however, that the massive additions did not necessarily mean that coal use or carbon dioxide emissions from the power sector would rise in China.
Provided that growth in non-fossil power generation from wind, solar and nuclear continues to accelerate and electricity demand growth stabilises or slows down, power generation from coal could peak and then decline, according to the report.
“China right now is building and deploying more renewables than the rest of the world put together, so if we can harness that deployment, you will automatically begin to make emissions come down,” said Kerry, adding that the Chinese side told him it was “trying very hard to move away” from coal.
01:07
US climate envoy John Kerry meets China’s top diplomat Wang Yi in latest bid to repair frayed ties
US climate envoy John Kerry meets China’s top diplomat Wang Yi in latest bid to repair frayed ties
China is the global leader in renewable energy expansion. Around 50 per cent of all renewables built each year are in China, according to the Energy Transitions Commission think tank.
A separate report by Global Energy Monitor found that China was set to double its capacity and produce 1,200 gigawatts of energy through wind and solar power by 2025 and would meet its 2030 goal five years ahead of time.
China issues action plan to cut methane emissions ahead of COP28 climate summit
China issues action plan to cut methane emissions ahead of COP28 climate summit
“We did come up with some very solid understandings which will help the COP and will put us both in a place where we can help the world by focusing on more renewables and other kinds of things,” said Kerry. He said their focus was getting topics “lined up” for the summit.
COP28, which starts on November 30, is expected to follow an unconfirmed meeting between Biden and Xi on the sidelines of next week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco.
