The United States and China ended three days of climate meetings with no concrete outcomes, but have agreed to continue talking ahead of pivotal global climate negotiations this fall.
“We came to Beijing in order to unstick what has been stuck for almost a year, and that’s the in-person dialogue between the United States and China,” U.S. climate envoy John Kerry said during a press conference. “We had very frank conversations, but we came here to break new ground, which we think is important at this stage, and it is clear that we are going to need a little more work to be able to complete that task, which we still believe, both of us, is doable.”
The announcement follows a packed schedule of meetings with senior Chinese officials, as the two sides tried to cool heightened tensions that have prevented in-person climate discussions between the United States and China for almost a year.
“There are a lot of things that we very clearly agreed on after all this time,” Kerry said. “But there are also some issues that are going to have to be resolved that are going to take a little more time.”
The two sides agreed to hold meetings in the coming weeks to discuss ways to scale up renewable energy, reduce coal use and address methane emissions ahead of COP 28, the global climate talks being held in November, Kerry said.
“We’re not issuing a declaration together, because we’re not finished finding the pathway with clarity on both sides that will allow us to achieve what we need to achieve,” Kerry said. “But this is how you get business done. You begin somewhere.”
