US, China pledge cooperation on climate following California talks

The United States and China will revive a bilateral working group on climate and work together on issues like methane, plastic pollution and energy transition, they said in a joint statement on Wednesday following talks this month.
The two biggest greenhouse gas emitters said they support a declaration by G20 leaders to triple global renewable energy capacity by 2030 and promised to work together to curb forest loss and plastic pollution.
The countries’ top climate envoys, John Kerry and Xie Zhenhua, met in Sunnylands, California on Nov. 4-7 to find common ground ahead of crucial COP28 talks in Dubai starting at the end of the month.
The re-launch of the bilateral working group marks the normalisation of the climate relationship between the two countries following a hiatus triggered in 2022 by the visit of former House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan, a self-governing island that China claims.
It will focus on key areas of cooperation, including abating methane and boosting efficiency and the “circular economy”, and exchange information on policies and technologies to reduce emissions.