USA and China to lead on modernizing for greenhouse gas reduction

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Since we discovered fire and the wheel…

  • Mankind is Still burning fossil fuel to create explosive gases and push a piston to turn a wheel. The fiery explosions have become bigger and the exhaust gases have enshrouded the Earth in greenhouse gases.
  • Mankind has been so enamored with its discovery of fire and the wheel, the technology never moved on, it would seem, according to the greenhouse emissions that the United Nations has been reporting.
  • “Levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere hit a new record of 410.5 parts per million in 2019, and are expected to keep rising through 2021,” the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said in its annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin.
  • “Weather-related crises have triggered more than twice as much displacement as conflict and violence in the last decade,” the UN refugee agency (UNHCR)  has said.
  •  Solving China’s globe-heating coal burning emissions and the USA’s massive pollution problems would go a long way toward mitigating climate change and encouraging smaller polluters to step up and finish the job, say experts. ‘Are these two countries seriously going to tackle these problems?’, is what has been discussed repeatedly by experts during the climate change debate.

by Melissa Hemingway and Micheal John

America's Climate Change Summit. The German Contingent led by German Chancellor Angela Merkel ( America’s Climate Change Summit.
The German Contingent led by German Chancellor Angela Merkel
(Pool Photo: Kay Nietfeld)  Art/Cropping/Enhancement: Rosa Yamamoto / Feminine-Perspective Magazine

US President Joe Biden’s epic climate change 2-day virtual summit in which he committed the USA to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions 50% to 52% below America’s 2005 emission levels, by 2030, as per the original Paris Accord the USA has rejoined.

Chinese climate envoy Xie Zhenhua and US counterpart John Kerry meeting in Shanghai, China, preparatory to the Climate Change Summit on April 15 and 16, thereafter releasing a statement saying, “The United States and China are committed to cooperating with each other and with other countries to tackle the climate crisis, which must be addressed with the seriousness and urgency that it demands.” (See agreement outline in appendix below.)

John Kerry is the ‘US Special Presidential Envoy For Climate’. His closing remarks for the 22 April 2021 first day of the Climate Summit are here.

“The signs are unmistakable,” said President Joe Biden, opening the conference.

“The science is undeniable that the cost of inaction just keeps mounting. The United States isn’t waiting. We are resolving to take action, not only our federal government, but our cities and our states all across our country, small businesses, large corporations, American workers in every field.”

President Biden asked some 40 world leaders to join him in combating climate change collectively.

“Yesterday, we agreed Europe’s first-ever Climate Law with the European Parliament and our 27 governments. With this, we write into stone the goal set out by the European Green Deal, to make Europe climate-neutral by 2050,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said during Thursday’s summit.

Authors of a comprehensive report on power generation say that China can save 1.6 trillion dollars by closing some 588 coal-fired power generation plants. It currently operates 1,058.  Read: IRENA_Power_Generation_Costs_2019

China is the world leader in wind turbines and solar panels and has announced it’s building five new nuclear power generation facilities to supply clean electricity.

Following the pre-summit meetings of envoys Xie Zhenhua and John Kerry, President Xi Jinping announced he will join a French-German climate summit today.

Appendix: The People’s Republic of China and the United States of America issued an historic, powerful statement, on 17 April 2021, outlining their agreement on the Climate Crisis

 

  1. The United States and China are committed to cooperating with each other and with other countries to tackle the climate crisis, which must be addressed with the seriousness and urgency that it demands. This includes both enhancing their respective actions and cooperating in multilateral processes, including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement. Both countries recall their historic contribution to the development, adoption, signature, and entry into force of the Paris Agreement through their leadership and collaboration.
  2. Moving forward, the United States and China are firmly committed to working together and with other Parties to strengthen implementation of the Paris Agreement. The two sides recall the Agreement’s aim in accordance with Article 2 to hold the global average temperature increase to well below 2 degrees C and to pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5 degrees C. In that regard, they are committed to pursuing such efforts, including by taking enhanced climate actions that raise ambition in the 2020s in the context of the Paris Agreement with the aim of keeping the above temperature limit within reach and cooperating to identify and address related challenges and opportunities.
  3. Both countries look forward to the US-hosted Leaders Summit on Climate on April 22/23. They share the Summit’s goal of raising global climate ambition on mitigation, adaptation, and support on the road to COP 26 in Glasgow.
  4. The United States and China will take other actions in the short term to further contribute to addressing the climate crisis:
  • a.  Both countries intend to develop by COP 26 in Glasgow their respective long-term strategies aimed at net zero GHG emissions/carbon neutrality.
  • b.  Both countries intend to take appropriate actions to maximize international investment and finance in support of the transition from carbon-intensive fossil fuel based energy to green, low-carbon and renewable energy in developing countries.
  • c.  They will each implement the phasedown of hydrofluorocarbon production and consumption reflected in the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol.
  1.  The United States and China will continue to discuss, both on the road to COP 26 and beyond, concrete actions in the 2020s to reduce emissions aimed at keeping the Paris Agreement-aligned temperature limit within reach, including:
  • a.  Policies, measures, and technologies to decarbonize industry and power, including through circular economy, energy storage and grid reliability, CCUS, and green hydrogen;
  • b.  Increased deployment of renewable energy;
  • c.  Green and climate resilient agriculture;
  • d.  Energy efficient buildings;
  • e.  Green, low-carbon transportation;
  • f.  Cooperation on addressing emissions of methane and other non-CO2 greenhouse gases;
  • g.  Cooperation on addressing emissions from international civil aviation and maritime activities; and
  • h.  Other near-term policies and measures, including with respect to reducing emissions from coal, oil, and gas
  1. The two sides will cooperate to promote a successful COP 26 in Glasgow, aiming to complete the implementation arrangements for the Paris Agreement (e.g., under Article 6 and Article 13) and to significantly advance global climate ambition on mitigation, adaptation, and support. They will further cooperate to promote a successful COP 15 of the Convention on Biological Diversity in Kunming, noting the importance of the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, including its relevance to climate mitigation and adaptation.