US and China Climate Envoys to meet in Washington May 8-9 - Al Mayadeen English
US and China Climate Envoys to meet in Washington May 8-9 | Al Mayadeen English
US and China Climate Envoys to meet in Washington May 8-9
China's Special Envoy for Climate Change, Liu Zhenmin, is scheduled to visit Washington on Wednesday and Thursday for discussions with US officials for key talks in areas identified in the Sunnylands Statement.
- Liu Zhenmin, Special Envoy for Climate Change of China speaks during the Boao Forum of Asia, held in Boao in southern China's Hainan province on Thursday, March 28, 2024. (AP)
The State Department announced that Liu Zhenmin, China's Special Envoy for Climate Change, will visit Washington on Wednesday and Thursday, for a meeting "of the bilateral Working Group on Enhancing Climate Action in the 2020s."
According to a statement by the US Department of State, the meeting is "aimed at accelerating concrete climate actions this decade," and focusing on "areas identified in the Sunnylands Statement, including energy transition, methane and other non-CO2 greenhouse gases, circular economy and resource efficiency, low-carbon and sustainable provinces/states and cities, and deforestation, among others."
This visit follows the Biden administration's earlier announcement that US climate change diplomat John Podesta would meet with Liu in May to restart discussions on climate cooperation, even as trade and security tensions persist between the two nations.
Liu's upcoming visit will be his first to Washington since assuming his new role, succeeding Xie Zhenhua, who retired in January for health reasons.
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Related Knowledge Center: Climate diplomacy
Talks are well underway in preparation for the next major international meeting on climate change, 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28), scheduled to begin Nov. 30 in the United Arab Emirates.
Much like last year’s COP27, finances — specifically, aid to developing nations — will be at the center of conference deliberations.
The conference faces an even greater sense of urgency brought on by the Sept. 8, 2023, release of the first global stocktake, which calls for accelerated action to meet the goals set in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement (COP21).
Climate diplomacy: COP 27 | Climate diplomacy: COP 28 | Climate diplomacy: COP 29