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WASHINGTON: The United States and China are “committed to cooperating” on the pressing issue of climate change, the two sides said on Saturday, issuing the pledge days ahead of a key summit hosted by President Joe Biden.
The joint statement came after a trip to Shanghai by US climate envoy John Kerry, the first official from Biden’s administration to visit China, signaling hopes the two sides could work together on the global challenge despite sky-high tensions on multiple other fronts.
But to achieve the global climate goal, Kerry said words must be put into action and urged China to reduce its use of coal.
Experts have commended a China-US joint climate statement issued amid the rift between the world's two largest economies, saying it will inject impetus into the world's multilateral climate process and boost confidence to address the global climate crisis.
Globally, fossil fuel subsidies still run into hundreds of billions of dollars
To have any hope of meeting emissions targets, fuel prices must be allowed to move towards their market level.
This new study suggests removing subsidies can have a major impact on industrial CO2 emissions.
There is no shortage of evidence on why governments should ditch fossil fuel subsidies. Artificially low prices prompt increased consumer demand and so more environmentally harmful fuels are produced, adding to air pollution and CO2 emissions. Subsidies also deter industry from putting energy-efficiency measures in place and may delay moves to invest in more efficient machinery, which could harm long-term industrial competitiveness. From an economic welfare point of view, they misallocate public funds that could be better directed for social or other economic use.
April 19, 2021 Share
China and the United States, the world’s two biggest carbon polluters, have reached a new agreement to take urgent measures to curb climate change.
The two countries said in a joint statement late Saturday that they “are committed to cooperating with each other” and other nations to deal with the climate crisis “with the seriousness and urgency that it demands.”
U.S. special envoy for climate John Kerry and Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua reached the agreement during three days of talks last week in Shanghai, just days ahead of the virtual summit on the issue being hosted this week by U.S. President Joe Biden.