Climate change negotiations between the US and China remain paused despite the ongoing UN Climate Summit. The discussions stalled after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s controversial visit to Taiwan in August.
The 27th UN Climate Summit (COP27) in Egypt aims to tackle climate change issues across the world. Last year the US and China, the two heaviest polluters, announced an agreement to cooperate on climate change at COP26 in Scotland.
Chinese climate negotiator Xie Zhen-hua (解振華) says Pelosi's visit to Taiwan "hurt the feelings of the Chinese people," and all dialogue with the United States on climate issues has ceased since then. A Reuters report says Beijing and Washington canceled a major negotiation meeting prior to COP27.
U.S. climate envoy John Kerry says cooperation with China is key to limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. He says the two countries need to work together to reduce methane emissions.
Kerry says he and Xie continue to have informal consultations. But Xie says in spite of China’s efforts, the US has not been cooperative.