The United States and China, the world’s two biggest greenhouse gas emitters, have agreed to strengthen their cooperation on climate change.
The two countries will work together and with others “to rise up to one of the greatest challenges of our time for present and future generations of humankind,” the State Department said in a statement Tuesday.
The joint announcement came on the eve of a summit between the American President Joe Biden and his counterpart Xi Jinping that is aimed at harmonizing the U.S.-China relationship.
The United States and China has agreed to further the implementation of the April 2021 U.S.-China Joint Statement Addressing the Climate Crisis and the November 2021 U.S.-China Joint Glasgow Declaration on Enhancing Climate Action in the 2020s, according to the statement.
“Both countries stress the importance of COP 28 in responding meaningfully to the climate crisis during this critical decade and beyond,” the U.S. and China said in the statement.
The announcement is a step in less than a month before countries gather in Dubai for COP28, the United Nations conference at which they are expected to agree to new pledges to fight climate change and its consequences.
COP28 is expected to server as a vital stop for the world’s climate mitigation efforts. The European Union said it will make a substantial financial contribution to a fund to address destruction by climate change.
Reuters reported that more than 60 countries have expressed support for an agreement to triple renewable energy this decade.
