China, US announce surprise agreement at COP26 climate summit
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The United Nations’ COP26 climate summit is underway in Glasgow, Scotland. It started on 31 October and will go on till 12 November 2021.
The participants at the summit, who are from different countries and organisations, are discussing making agreements to fight climate change.
In a surprise announcement, China and the US have agreed to boost climate cooperation over the next 10 years. China is the world’s largest emitter of carbon dioxide (CO2), followed by the US. CO2 is a greenhouse gas that is a major contributor to global warming. The announcement is a surprise as the two are also global rivals who have had conflicts in many issues.
The new China-US agreement at the COP26 climate summit says both sides will “recall their firm commitment to work together”. They aim to achieve the 1.5C (celsius) temperature goal set out in the 2015 Paris Agreement. Scientists say that limiting global temperature rises to 1.5C will help us avoid the worst impacts of climate change.
The agreement lays out steps to work on many issues including methane emissions, changing to more use of clean energy, and de-carbonisation. They have also agreed to cooperate on protecting forests as well as exchange technology.
The reaction to the announcement
World and environmental organisation leaders welcomed the agreement, saying that it is very encouraging. But it is also important that they work to achieve their goals.
Last week, more than 100 countries also signed a pledge to slash methane emissions by at least 30% by 2030. But China was not part of it.
Climate change is a huge issue we face today. So, hopefully, the COP25 climate summit will bring about real changes.
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