08:39 03/09/2021
US climate envoy John Kerry warned on Thursday that China's extreme use of coal could "undo" global efforts to meet environmental targets after holding talks with senior officials in China.
Tensions between Beijing and Washington have increased in recent months and both sides are exchanging accusations on several topics. The US criticizes China's handling of human rights and its initial response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The response to climate change is one of the topics where the two sides had reached some harmony.
But Beijing has emphasized in recent months that environmental cooperation could be damaged by the deterioration of Sino-American relations.
Mr. Kerry said in comments to reporters Thursday evening that the United States has made it clear that "increasing the number of coal-fired power plants or plants represents a major challenge to global efforts to respond to the climate crisis."
China's plans for new coal-fired power plants could "undo the world's ability to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050," he said, adding that although they had held "very constructive" talks. he had also been "very direct" on the subject.
Despite pledges not to continue increasing coal consumption after 2030, China has for years operated a coal-fired power plant with a capacity of 38.4 gigawatts, or three times more powerful than the plants in operation globally combined.
China insists that Washington must mend bilateral relations as a precondition for progress on climate change.
Mr Kerry called on the Chinese government not to allow efforts to combat climate change to be affected by tensions between the world's two biggest polluters.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Mr. Kerry at the start of the visit that cooperation in responding to climate change cannot be divorced from the broader diplomacy between the two countries.
He said that "the ball is now in America's court and that the US must give up this mentality where it sees China as a threat and as an opponent".
Before the meeting in China, Mr. Kerry was in Japan, trying to mobilize global support for an important global meeting in response to the problem of climate change.
The 26th UN Climate Change Conference to be held in Glasgow, Scotland in November is the largest global event on the topic since the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015./VOA
Source of information @TvKlan: Read more at: www.botasot.al
