US and China reach 'some agreements' on climate - John Kerry - BBC.com
US and China reach 'some agreements' on climate - John Kerry - BBC News
US and China reach 'some agreements' on climate - John Kerry
- Published
The US has reached some agreements with China ahead of the COP28 Summit in Dubai at the end of this month, Washington's climate envoy has said.
"We felt that our days of talks were very successful. We did come up with some agreements", John Kerry told the BBC at a business summit in Singapore.
Details will be shared "at the appropriate moment soon", he said.
The world's two biggest polluters finding common ground is considered a crucial part of any consensus at COP28.
Mr Kerry had met with his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua in California this week for four days. He described the meetings as tough and serious.
In response to a question, Mr Kerry refuted observations that US climate policies and technologies are "anti-China".
"Like any other country in the world, [China] benefits from a new technology. We're trying to develop that... Every country I've heard from Germany and France, and other countries, do the same thing. We need to all move faster," he said.
It is hoped that COP28 - to be held from 30 November to 12 December - will help keep alive the goal of limiting long-term global temperature rises to 1.5C. This was agreed by nearly 200 countries in Paris in 2015.
Contentious topics on the table in Dubai include details of a fund for richer countries to compensate the poorest nations as they cope with climate change.
The US and some other developed countries have been wary of the fund and sought to limit access to the most vulnerable countries not covered by development banks and relief funds.
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).
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