China and USA announced on Wednesday a joint plan to “strengthen climate action” in the next decade, during COP26 in Glasgow, an “important step in the right direction”, in the words of the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres.

“Both sides recognize that there is a gap between current efforts and the goals of the Paris Agreement, so we will jointly strengthen climate action,” Chinese special envoy for climate Xie Zhenhua said at an unexpected press conference, in full negotiations in Glasgow.

China and state United They are the two main emitters of greenhouse gases, responsible for global warming. Between them they emit about 40% of the total.

Xie explained that the plan includes “concrete plans” throughout this decade, and that both Beijing and Washington are committed to “working to finalize the code of rules” of the 2015 Paris Agreement, one of the goals of negotiation in Glasgow. .

China and state United, the two world superpowers, have to take responsibility to work together with other parties to fight against climate change ”, he added.

Shortly after, the US special envoy, John Kerry, took the stand, hailing a “roadmap” designed to define “how we are going to limit warming and work together.

In particular, the document mentions a significant reduction in emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas up to 80 times more powerful than CO2.

Xie assured that this new joint plan, an unexpected novelty in Glasgow, was carried out after 30 telematic meetings over 10 months.

Kerry and Xie expressed their hope that this agreement will boost negotiations in Glasgow, where the nearly 200 countries that signed the 2015 Paris Agreement must agree on new targets to fight global warming.

Shortly before this unexpected announcement, the British Prime Minister himself, Boris Johnson, had asked the press for a “decisive push” to close the negotiations between now and Friday, when the COP26.

“Tackling the climate crisis requires international collaboration and solidarity, and this is an important step in the right direction,” Guterres tweeted.


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