There are three highlights of the latest China-US climate statement: continued cooperation, in-depth cooperation, and expanded cooperation

 In the run-up to COP28, China and the United States recently issued the Sunnyland Statement on Strengthening Cooperation to Address the Climate Crisis, reaffirming the commitment of the two countries to work together on climate change. As major emitters, cooperation between the United States and China is a key factor in driving strong global climate action to accelerate the energy transition. China's leading position in the global clean energy industry cannot rule out the need for China to rebuild its clean energy industry chain. Countries should strengthen cooperation and make more substantive progress in addressing climate change.

The 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) will be held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. China and the United States, the world's two major economies and the largest emitters of greenhouse gases, recently issued the "Sunshine Country Statement on Strengthening Cooperation to Address the Climate Crisis", reaffirming their commitment to strengthen cooperation on climate change issues and actively promote the discussion of climate change issues at COP28.

This sends a strong signal that countries need to engage in constructive multilateral dialogue at COP28 in order to take concrete action and make progress. There are three highlights in the joint statement between the United States and China that are worth mentioning.

First, this joint statement is consistent with the two previous joint statements, the April 2021 U.S.-China Joint Statement on Addressing the Climate Crisis, and the November 2021 Glasgow Joint Declaration on Strengthening Climate Action in the 2020s.

In the latest statement, the two countries "recall, reaffirm and commit themselves to further effective and sustained implementation" of the previous two statements. This coherence is also reflected in the current policies of the United States and China, particularly the important role played by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the United Nations "in national responses and cooperation to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement and in promoting multilateralism."

In a world of economic and political turmoil, a renewed commitment to multilateralism by the United States and China is important if countries are to seize the decade of opportunity to address the climate crisis. After all, individual efforts are only a drop in the ocean, and it is only when all countries, all regions, all businesses and communities work together that the imminent climate catastrophe can be averted.

Image source: Oriental IC

Second, with the support of China and the United States, the global goal of scaling up renewable energy is becoming a reality. "The two countries support the G20 Leaders' Declaration to triple global renewable energy capacity by 2030, and plan to fully accelerate the deployment of renewable energy in both countries between now and 2030 at 2020 levels to accelerate substitution of kerosene, oil and gas to generate electricity so that meaningful absolute reductions in emissions from the power sector can be expected to peak up," the Sunnyland statement said. "The power sector is key to the green transition. The phase-out of fossil fuels can provide ultimate energy security for humanity, and accelerating the development and utilization of renewable energy is a key core in this process.

As we all know, the world is embracing a zero-emission transition, which is characterized by the use of new energy sources to drive economic growth. More than 100 countries have announced that they are about to implement or are in the process of implementing such actions. In the recent wave of clean energy investment, China has once again demonstrated its pivotal leadership. In 2022, China invested more than US$540 billion in clean energy deployment and related technology research and development, continuing to be a major investor in clean energy. China has the largest renewable energy industry and is a major supporter and leader of the global energy transition.

To be clear, improving the resilience of supply chains does not in any way mean removing China from supply chains. If China were to slow down its development of renewables, it would be too much for China and the world to cope with climate change. And we don't have the time to build a whole new renewable energy industry and its supply chain. So the United States and China are working together to support the transition to renewable energy, sending a positive signal to the world.

Image source: China Daily

Third, the two countries have also begun to cooperate on other greenhouse gases. China recently released its Methane Emission Control Action Plan. "The two countries will immediately initiate technical working group cooperation to engage in policy dialogue, exchange of technical solutions and capacity building, and develop their respective 2035 NDCs to reduce methane emissions based on their respective national methane action plans, and support their respective progress in reducing methane emissions/emissions in their respective countries." This is an extremely positive step forward in controlling non-CO2 greenhouse gas emissions, especially for China, which is both a major emitter of methane and a potential leader in methane reduction actions.

At the end of the joint statement, both the United States and China emphasized the importance of "the broadest possible cooperation" as a key enabler for strong climate change mitigation action and climate-resilient development. The COP28 conference in Dubai will once again be a central platform for international dialogue, action and joint efforts.Until then, it is important to call on countries to strengthen cooperation and action to make more substantial progress on climate change.