U.S. climate envoy John Kerry in Beijing for talks
U.S. climate envoy John Kerry is in Beijing this week to discuss how the U.S. and China, the world’s two biggest greenhouse gas emitters, can work together to combat climate change.
Kerry arrived on Sunday, as temperatures in China’s arid northwest reached a record of almost 126 degrees Fahrenheit.
“In the next three days we hope we can begin taking some big steps that will send a signal to the world about the serious purpose of China and the United States to address a common risk, threat, challenge to all of humanity created by humans themselves,” he said Monday before meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Xie Zhenhua, according to Reuters.
The meetings have no set agenda, but Kerry and Xie are expected to discuss efforts to reduce emissions from methane and coal-fired power plants, as well as preparations for the COP28 global climate talks in Dubai at the end of this year.
Kerry’s trip to China, his third as U.S. climate envoy, is the first formal top-level climate diplomacy between the two countries since China suspended talks last year after Nancy Pelosi, the House speaker at the time, visited Taiwan, a self-governing island that Beijing claims as its territory. Kerry is the third U.S. official to visit China in recent weeks as the two countries try to improve ties.
Relentless heat in the U.S. and abroad
Parts of the Southern U.S. continue to grapple with a relentless heatwave, with more records expected to be broken through Tuesday, forecasters said.
Record-breaking heat is expected into the start of the week in the Four Corners states, from Texas to the Lower Mississippi Valley, and South Florida, the National Weather Service warned in an early Monday update.
The U.S. is far from alone in contending with severe heat, however, with countries around the world, including across Europe and Asia, also facing potentially record-breaking temperatures amid severe heatwaves.
