On November 15, China and the United States issued the Sunnyside Statement on Strengthening Cooperation to Address the Climate Crisis. The statement contains 25 articles, ranging from energy transition to methane and other non-carbon dioxide greenhouse gas emissions to synergizing greenhouse gas and air pollutant emission reductions, all of which are relevant to the consensus.
The statement noted that China and the United States are committed to ending plastic pollution and will work with all parties to develop a legally binding international instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment. In addition, the statement also noted that the two countries aim to promote at least five large-scale carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) cooperation projects in the industrial and energy sectors by 2030.
At present, there is still a wide divergence of views among countries on the treaty-making of international instruments, with the European Union, Japan, Canada and others emphasizing the reduction of plastic production, and China and Saudi Arabia focusing on the recycling and reuse of plastics. The United States, for its part, has changed its position and appears to be favoring a reduction in plastic production as well.
As the world's first and second largest economies, the world's largest developed country and the largest developing country, it is of far-reaching significance for the United States and China to strengthen their cooperation in addressing the climate crisis. This will not only curb the deterioration of the global climate, but also inspire and lead the international community to invest more enthusiasm and determination in climate cooperation.
In fact, back in 2015, the 21st United Nations Climate Change Conference, or Paris Climate Conference, adopted the Paris Agreement, the second legally binding climate agreement after the Kyoto Protocol. Previously, the Trump administration in the United States had withdrawn from the Paris Agreement to "stop the severe financial and economic burden this agreement has placed on the United States." After the Biden administration took office, the US rejoined the group. This US-China statement makes several references to the Paris Agreement and emphasizes efforts to achieve the relevant goals in the agreement.
The full text of the statement is below:
Sunnyside Statement on Enhancing Cooperation to Address the Climate Crisis
Revisiting the meeting between President Xi Jinping and President Joseph Biden in Bali, Indonesia, China and the United States reaffirmed their commitment to cooperating and working with other countries to address the climate crisis. To that end, Xie Zhenhua, China's Special Envoy for Climate Change Affairs, and John Kerry, U.S. Presidential Special Envoy for Climate Issues, met in Beijing, July 16-19, and in Sunnyvale, California, November 4-7, 2023, and issued the following statement:
1. China and the United States recall, reaffirm and commit to the further effective and sustained implementation of the April 2021 United States-China Joint Statement on Responding to the Climate Crisis and the November 2021 United States-China Glasgow Joint Declaration on Enhanced Climate Action in the 21st Century 2020.
2. China and the United States recognize the increasingly significant impact of the climate crisis on countries around the world. In the face of warnings from the best available science, such as the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), both countries are committed to the effective implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement, embodying the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, and taking into account differing national circumstances, and to limiting the increase in global average temperatures, as set forth in Article 2 of the Paris Agreement, to less than 2 degrees Celsius and to endeavoring to Limit the increase in global average temperature to less than 2°C and work towards limiting it to 1.5°C, as stated in article 2 of the Paris Agreement, including efforts to keep 1.5°C achievable, in order to achieve the objective of the Agreement.
3. The United States and China are committed to the effective implementation of the Paris Agreement and its decisions, including the Glasgow Climate Agreement and the Sharm el-Sheikh Implementation Plan. They emphasize that the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the Convention is critical to meaningfully addressing the climate crisis in this critical decade and beyond. They recognized the important role of both countries in implementing the objectives of the Paris Agreement and promoting multilateralism, both in terms of domestic responses and joint cooperative action. For the sake of present and future generations of humankind, the two countries will work together and with other parties to the Convention and the Paris Agreement to face one of the most serious challenges in the world today.
4. The United States and China have decided to launch the "Working Group on Enhanced Climate Action for the 21st Century and the 1920s" to engage in dialogue and cooperation to accelerate concrete climate action in the 21st century and the 1920s. The Working Group will focus on areas of cooperation identified in the Joint Statement and the Joint Declaration, including energy transition, methane, circular economy and resource efficiency, low-carbon sustainable provinces/states and cities, deforestation, and other topics as mutually agreed. The Working Group will exchange information on policies, measures and technologies to control and reduce emissions, share their respective experiences, identify and implement cooperative projects, and assess the implementation of the Joint Statement, the Joint Declaration and this Statement. The working group will be co-led by the Special Envoys for Climate Change of the two countries, with the participation of officials from relevant ministries and government agencies of the two countries in an appropriate manner.
5. China and the United States will focus on accelerating the following concrete actions under the Working Group before COP28 and thereafter, in particular practical and tangible cooperation programs and projects.
energy transition
6. In the critical decade of the 21st century and 2020s, the two countries support the efforts outlined in the G20 Leaders' Declaration to triple global installed renewable energy capacity by 2030, and plan to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy in both countries sufficiently from 2020 levels by 2030 to accelerate the substitution of coal, oil and gas for electricity generation, with the expectation of meaningful absolute reductions in emissions from the power sector after peaking.
7. The two sides agreed to relaunch the U.S.-China Energy Efficiency Forum to deepen policy exchanges on energy conservation and carbon reduction in key areas such as industry, buildings, transportation and equipment.
8. China and the U.S. plan to restart the bilateral energy policy and strategy dialogues to carry out exchanges on mutually agreed topics, promote Track II activities and strengthen practical cooperation.
9. The two countries aim to promote at least five large-scale cooperation projects on carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) in the fields of industry and energy by 2030.
Methane and other non-carbon dioxide greenhouse gas emissions
10. Both countries will implement their respective national methane action plans and plan to refine further measures as appropriate.
11. The two countries will immediately initiate cooperation in technical working groups for policy dialog, exchange of technical solutions and capacity building to develop their own methane emission reduction actions/targets incorporating their nationally owned contributions to 2035 based on their respective national methane action plans and to support the progress of their respective methane emission reductions/controls.
12. The two countries plan to cooperate on their respective measures to manage nitrous oxide emissions.
13. The two countries plan to work together under the Kigali Amendment to phase down HFCs and are committed to ensuring that all refrigeration equipment is manufactured with robust minimum energy efficiency standards.
Circular economy and resource efficiency
14. Recognizing the important role of circular economy development and resource efficiency in addressing the climate crisis, the relevant government departments of the two countries plan to conduct a policy dialogue on these topics as soon as possible and to support exchange discussions and cooperation projects among enterprises, universities and research institutes on both sides.
15. China and the United States are committed to ending plastic pollution and will work with all parties to develop a legally binding international instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment.
Local cooperation
16. China and the United States will support climate cooperation between provinces, states and cities in areas such as electricity, transportation, construction and waste. Both sides will promote the active participation of local governments, businesses, think tanks and other relevant parties in the cooperation. The two countries will conduct policy dialogues, share best practices, exchange information and promote project cooperation through agreed regular meetings.
17. China and the United States plan to organize a high-level event on local climate action in the first half of 2024.
18. Both sides welcomed and appreciated the local cooperation that already exists between the two countries and encouraged practical climate cooperation between provinces, states and cities.
Deforestation
19. The Parties commit to further efforts to halt and reverse forest decline by 2030, including through the full implementation and effective enforcement of their respective laws against illegal imports through regulatory and policy instruments. The parties' plans include discussions under the Working Group to share ways to enhance efforts to strengthen the implementation of this commitment.
Greenhouse gas and air pollutant abatement synergies
20. The two countries plan to cooperate in promoting relevant policy measures and technology deployment to enhance synergistic control of greenhouse gases and emissions of air pollutants such as nitrogen oxides (NOx), volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other tropospheric ozone precursors.
Nationally owned contributions in 2035
21. Reaffirming the nationally owned nature of nationally owned contributions, recalling Article 4.4 of the Paris Agreement, the nationally owned contributions of both countries in 2035 will be economy-wide, including all greenhouse gases, and that the emission reductions embodied therein are consistent with the Paris temperature goal of limiting the increase in global average temperatures to less than 2 degrees Celsius and endeavouring to limit it to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
COP28
22. China and the United States, together with the United Arab Emirates, will invite countries to participate in the Methane and Non-CO2 Greenhouse Gas Summit at COP28.
23. China and the United States will actively participate in the first global stocktaking of the Paris Agreement, which is an important opportunity for Parties to look back on the strengths, implementation, and cooperation in line with the Paris Agreement's temperature control goal of limiting the increase in global average temperatures to less than 2 degrees Celsius and striving to limit it to 1.5 degrees Celsius, and with the determination of the Parties to keep the 1.5 degrees Celsius temperature control goal achievable.
24. The two countries are committed to working together and with other Parties to reach a global stocktaking decision by consensus. The two countries believe that the decision:
（1）Substantial positive progress towards achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement should be reflected, including the fact that the Agreement has facilitated action by parties and non-party stakeholders and that the world is in a significantly better position with regard to the temperature rise trajectory than it would have been without the Agreement;
（2）Equity should be considered and reference made to the best available science, including the latest IPCC report;
（3）It should be balanced across thematic areas, include retrospective and responsive elements, and be consistent with the design of the Paris Agreement;
（4）It should reflect the fact that achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement will require a significant increase in ambition and implementation in terms of action and support, taking into account different national circumstances;
（5）Signals should be sent in terms of energy transition (renewable energy, coal/oil/gas), carbon sinks such as forests, non-CO2 gases such as methane, and low-carbon technologies;
（6）Recognizing the nationally self-determined nature of nationally owned contributions and recalling Article 4.4 of the Paris Agreement, economy-wide nationally owned contributions in 2035 should be encouraged to cover all greenhouse gases;
（7）It should reflect the critical importance of adaptation and be accompanied by a strong decision to present a robust framework for a global adaptation goal
（8）Accelerated adaptation, including the development of targets/indicators to enhance adaptation effectiveness; the provision of early warning systems for developing country Parties; and the enhancement of adaptation efforts in key areas (e.g. food, water, infrastructure, health and ecosystems);
（9）It should be noted that developed countries expect to achieve a climate finance target of USD 100 billion by 2023, and reiterated that developed country Parties are urged to at least double their provision of adaptation finance; to look forward to the adoption of a new collective quantified financial target by COP29; and to align financial flows with the objectives of the Paris Agreement;
（10）The recommendation of the Transitional Committee to establish funding arrangements to address loss and damage, including the establishment of a fund for this purpose, should be welcomed and appreciated;
（11）The important role of international cooperation should be emphasized, including the fact that the global nature of the climate crisis calls for the broadest possible cooperation, which is a key enabler for the achievement of robust mitigation actions and climate-resilient development.
25. China and the United States are committed to further strengthening dialogue, collaborative efforts, and supporting the UAE Presidency in successfully hosting COP28.
