US climate envoy John Kerry (left) and his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua talk during the UN climate change conference in Glasgow, Scotland, on November 13. Photo: Kyodo
Opinion
The View
by Cecilia Han Springer
The View
by Cecilia Han Springer
How US-China collaboration on reducing methane emissions can enhance joint climate action
Even with its vague language, the joint declaration by the world’s two largest greenhouse gas emitters is a bright spot
The focus on reducing methane emissions is particularly heartening as each country’s strengths can help the other succeed
As the dust settles in the wake of the UN climate change summit, one announcement deserves more attention amid the main headlines of coal, cars, cash and trees.
The US-China Joint Glasgow Declaration on Enhancing Climate Action in the 2020s brings together the world’s two largest greenhouse gas emitters at a moment when their bilateral relationship is otherwise in a deep freeze.
This bright spot of cooperation deserves praise, particularly for the specific discussion on reducing methane. But, as the climate crisis worsens and political tensions flare, sustained attention must be paid to ensure the declaration’s vague text translates into concrete action.
During the run-up to the Paris Agreement in 2015, US-China cooperation on climate seemed to be at an all-time high. In 2009, they established the Clean Energy Research Centre consortium, facilitating collaboration on research and technical exchange between US Department of Energy labs and counterparts in China.
Beyond the realm of scientific research, then-secretary of state John Kerry established the US-China Climate Change Working Group in 2013. It covered a broad range of key mitigation areas, including vehicles, smart grids, buildings, cities and forests.
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China and US unveil deal to cooperate on cutting emissions, phasing out coal and protecting forests
China and US unveil deal to cooperate on cutting emissions, phasing out coal and protecting forests
Climate cooperation reached an apogee in November 2014 when US president Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Beijing and issued the US-China Joint Announcement on Climate Change, followed by the Joint Presidential Statement on Climate Change in 2015.
As political pressures and then a global pandemic derailed US-China cooperation in recent years, the global climate challenge has grown ever more dire. From 2015 to 2020, each year saw record temperatures, and both the United States and China experienced devastating drought and floods in 2021.
Climate was supposed to be one of a few bright spots in the US-China relationship, but there has been little to show for it in the past five years. Thus, the joint declaration struck on November 10 by China’s special climate envoy Xie Zhenhua and Kerry, the US special climate envoy, proves climate still serves as a positive area for US-China engagement.
The mere existence of the declaration is laudable, and its content will guide the re-establishment of US-China climate cooperation. While most of the declaration reiterates existing commitments related to mitigation on both sides, the specific discussion on methane reduction is a key area for sustained focus.
The US and China have vastly different methane emissions profiles. Most US methane emissions come from the production of natural gas as the US is the world’s top producer. Its ageing natural gas distribution system is also responsible for large amounts of methane leakage.
China, on the other hand, is not a major natural gas producer. Instead, most of its energy-related methane emissions come from coal beds, with coal being China’s primary energy source. China notably did not join the Global Methane Pledge, a global partnership aimed at reducing countries’ methane emissions by at least 30 per cent by 2030 that was hailed as a critical step in mitigating greenhouse gases other than carbon dioxide.
As China pursues its 2060 carbon neutrality commitment and phases down coal, a larger share of its energy could come from natural gas. Thus, China can learn from the US about how to measure and mitigate methane emissions associated with natural gas production and distribution.
On the other hand, China’s experience of rapid infrastructure finance and construction can provide lessons for improving energy distribution systems in the US. The different energy profiles of the two countries present an opportunity for mutual assistance and exchange.
A flare burns methane on a well pad near Watford City, North Dakota, on August 26. The US and China have vastly different methane emissions profiles. Photo: AP
In other areas, though, the declaration left much to be desired. A major missed opportunity for collaboration is the absence of a plan for enabling clean energy transitions overseas. While the declaration reiterated both countries’ commitment to ending support for overseas coal, it neglected the need to meet the ever-growing clean energy demand in developing countries.
As both countries are deeply engaged in overseas infrastructure development – China through its Belt and Road Initiative and the US through the Build Back Better World initiative – they must not only pull the plug on coal but increase support for renewables.
With sustained attention to the US-China declaration, positive provisions can be found within it, especially related to methane mitigation. Additionally, as both countries scale up climate finance and overseas infrastructure engagement, they can work in parallel to once and for all move away from coal and towards supporting renewable energy in partner countries.
Another promising outcome of the declaration is the intent to set up a mechanism for US-China climate cooperation – the Working Group on Enhancing Climate Action in the 2020s. This group has a broad mandate for climate cooperation and will hopefully represent a return to regular exchanges between US and China climate policymakers.
With the climate crisis growing more dire, cooperation between the US and China is not just preferable to hostile competition – it is necessary for the global future.
Cecilia Han Springer, PhD is a senior researcher with the Boston University Global Development Policy Centre, working on the environmental impacts of China’s overseas investment, energy policy in China and industrial decarbonisation
