China, US to put climate working group into operation

China and the United States will establish a working group whose goal will be to accelerate actions to address climate change during this decade, according to a joint statement released on Wednesday.

The Sunnylands Statement on Enhancing Cooperation to Address the Climate Crisis was made public after a meeting that was held between China's Special Envoy for Climate Change Xie Zhenhua and his US counterpart, John Kerry, in Sunnylands, California, from Nov 4 to 7.

The two sides decided to put into operation the Working Group on Enhancing Climate Action in the 2020s, which they initially decided to form in 2021, the statement said.

The working group will meet regularly to address the global climate crisis, focusing on enhancing concrete actions that can be taken during this decade, according to the China-US Joint Glasgow Declaration on Enhancing Climate Action in the 2020s, which was published at the COP26 United Nations climate change conference in Glasgow, Scotland.

The Wednesday statement said the working group will focus on areas including energy transition; low-carbon usage and sustainability provinces, states and cities; and deforestation, among other topics.

Members of the group will exchange information on policies, measures and technologies for controlling and reducing emissions, share their experiences, identify and implement cooperative projects, and evaluate the implementation of the statements and declarations they have made in recent years.

Xie and Kerry will jointly lead the group, the latest statement said.

The statement highlighted Sino-US cooperation ahead of the COP28 UN climate gathering, which will be held in the United Arab Emirates from Nov 30 to Dec 12.

China, the US and the UAE have invited countries to participate at the Methane and Non-CO2 Greenhouse Gases Summit at COP28, it said.

COP28 will mark the conclusion of the first Global Stocktake, a comprehensive assessment of the progress made in achieving the goals of the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement.

"Both countries (China and the US) are committed to working with each other and with other parties to adopt a consensus on the Global Stocktake decision," the statement said.

The decision "should reflect that substantially more ambition and implementation on action and support will be needed to achieve the Paris Agreement's goals, recognizing different national circumstances", it noted.

The statement added that China and the US are committed to holding more talks and strengthening their efforts and collaboration to support the UAE presidency for the success of COP28.