China to push on with emissions reduction even as Taiwan spat widens rift with US, renews concerns about global warming
- The suspension of US-China climate talks reflects the uneasy cooperation between the world’s two largest greenhouse gas emitters
- That disengagement comes three months before the next United Nations Climate Change Conference is to be held in Egypt
China will move forward with efforts to reduce emissions, even as its suspension of bilateral talks with the United States has cast doubt on whether the world’s second-largest economy can follow through on its agenda to fight global warming, according to climate experts.
“The worry is that this US-China fallout will again be used by governments of countries that are unwilling to step up to delay ambitious climate action,” said Bernice Lee, research director, futures, at London-based independent policy institute Chatham House.
“It is important that the international community, especially vulnerable and developing economies, continues making sure that large emitters will deliver what they promised, whether in terms of emissions reduction or climate finance,” Lee said in an emailed interview.
The suspension of US-China climate talks reflects the uneasy cooperation between the world’s two largest greenhouse gas emitters.
The two superpowers’ efforts on climate change have played a major role in mobilising international support for climate action, according to Joanna Lewis, a specialist in China’s climate policies at Georgetown University in Washington, in an emailed interview.
“There have been many official and unofficial dialogues on climate issues, and meaningful cooperation was just getting started on many key issues such as reducing methane emissions,” Lewis said. “While international engagement on this topic will continue to be important, China’s own domestic work on methane will not come to a halt if cooperation is put on pause.”
China releases plan to guide big industries to reach peak emissions by 2030
Methane is responsible for around 30 per cent of the rise in global temperatures since the Industrial Revolution, and quick and sustained emission reductions are key to limiting near-term warming and improving air quality, according to the International Energy Agency.
China ‘confident’ on 2030 climate goal despite global energy crisis
“Despite the move to halt talks [with the US], the expectation is that China will continue to move forward on its domestic pledges like its methane plan, as well as phasing down coal in the second half of this decade,” Chatham House’s Lee said, echoing the viewpoint of Georgetown’s Lewis.
“The US and China can stop talking, but they cannot stop extreme climate events on their own,” Lee said. “Ultimately, it is in both their self-interest to accelerate ambitious domestic climate action, as the world’s two largest emitters avoid further losses due to climate impacts.”
While bilateral agreements are a way to help China and the US accelerate efforts to cut emissions, competition could serve as an “alternative approach that is potentially more effective”, said Alexandra Hackbarth, a senior policy adviser focused on US-China climate diplomacy at E3G, a climate change think tank.
China ‘faces US$6.5 trillion green funding gap’ to reach emissions goal
“I hope climate talks can resume soon, but it seems to depend on the overall relations between the two countries,” Loh said. “Their cooperation is important because they can complement each other well and they both have enormous capabilities.”
Still, Georgetown’s Lewis expressed hope that the US-China disengagement in climate cooperation is temporary.
“We have seen a lot of instability in the US-China relationship, but climate change is one area that has weathered the storms,” Lewis said. “Climate change cooperation is in the interest of both the US and China, and benefits the two countries both technically and diplomatically.”
Additional reporting by Yujie Xue.
