U.S. and China Hold Key Talks on Climate Goals and Global Emissions

United States – US climate envoy John Podesta is to visit China for three days from Wednesday to talk over climate change thorny issues, and the environment ministry said thus readiness, the world’s two largest emitters of greenhouse gas look to build and foster discourse of such darts as finance, as reported by Reuters.

Previous agreements between the two have been instrumental in shaping global action on addressing climate change; however, few believe that the talks this week will produce significant advancements.

Previous Agreements and Current Expectations

Podesta is due to hold a rendezvous with Chinese counterpart Liu Zhenmin in the second round of formal climate talks between the two largest polluters after Podesta replaced John Kerry as top climate envoy at the beginning of this year.

In a summary of remarks made last week between Jake Sullivan of the United States and its counterpart in China, Wang Yi, the State Department said, “They discussed the need for Concrete Actions on Climate Change, and both agreed on further engagements” a reference to Podesta’s visit.

The United States is also attempting to urge China to commit to higher emissions reduction targets as countries are required to submit additional “nationally determined” contributions to the United Nations by the start of the following year.

Challenges and Skepticism

“We may get to know a bit more about China’s positions and their landing zones, but (there is) unlikely (to be) a breakthrough,” said Yao Zhe, global policy adviser at Greenpeace in Beijing.

Washington hopes China will join a new scheme called the New Collective Quantified Goal that would provide billions of dollars to developing countries to increase climate targets.

However, the plea for a large pool of members to contribute to the fund was seen as a ploy for ‘protectionism’ by rich nations, the BASIC bloc of Brazil, China, India, and South Africa stated last month.

China’s Climate Commitments and Tensions

“China has chafed at pressure from the United States, European Union, and other advanced economies to require contributions from emerging economies,” said Kate Logan, a climate expert at the Asia Society Policy Institute, in an email, as reported by Reuters.

Beijing’s emissions are set to peak much sooner than the “before 2030” target date, allowing the city to promise significant cuts by 2035.

For China to be part of the Paris Agreement in managing the increase in global temperatures within 1. 5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit); research indicates that.