U.S. And China Presidents To Be Absent From COP28

Updated Nov. 28, 2023, 3:30 p.m. EST

• After agreeing on joint measures to address climate change, leaders of the U.S. and China will not be attending COP28, the U.N.'s climate summit taking place in Dubai on Thursday. U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping were expected to agree to new pledges to fight climate change at the summit. 
• Both countries intend to send representatives — climate envoys John Kerry and Xie Zhenhua.
• There has been a mixed reaction to the two representatives' reported absences. Cherelle Blazer, director of international climate and policy at the Sierra Club, said she was not concerned about Biden and Xi not attending the summit. Blazer continued:

"The Senate delegation is going to be there. The full U.S. negotiating team will be there. Kerry will be there. So, everyone that needs to be in place for something actionable to happen will be there."

What's the story? 

• The U.S. and China announced that the nations have agreed on joint measures to tackle climate change.
• The combined statement — released following meetings between U.S. and China climate envoys John Kerry and Xie Zhenhua — declares that the nations "recognize that the climate crisis has increasingly affected countries around the world" and have reaffirmed their commitment to tripling renewable energy usage this decade, which was previously agreed upon at the G20 meeting in India. 
• The State Department said that the two governments will work together "to rise up to one of the greatest challenges of our time for present and future generations of humankind."

What's in the plan?

• Both countries agreed to increase renewable energy sources through 2030 "to accelerate the substitution for coal, oil and gas generation." The plan addresses plastic pollution, methane emissions, and deforestation as well.
• The agreement focuses on cooperation between the nations, exchanging ideas and information on policy and technology to reduce emissions, and boosting the efficiency of a "circular economy."
• The nations are committing to "at least five" large-scale cooperation projects in carbon capture, utilization, and storage by the end of the decade. 
• The deal falls short of addressing China and the U.S.'s usage of fossil fuels. Observers are criticizing the lack of a pledge to decrease these emissions as the two economies are part of the world's top five fossil fuel-producing countries. 

What they're saying 

• Bernice Lee, a fellow at Chatham House — an international affairs think tank — said:

"[P]rogress on fossil fuels wasn't what I expected to see, as they both have constraints...But nonetheless, I think it's good that they have a statement that's focused on the things they agree on, which is, obviously the renewables and methane."

• David Waskow from the World Resources Institute said:

"This announcement is a major step because China is the world's largest methane emitter and serious actions to curb this gas is essential for slowing global warming in the near-term."

• Fan Dai, director of the California-China Climate Institute, said cooperation to reduce fossil fuel emissions could be a natural next step since both countries have said they want to move away from the resource. Dai continued:

"I think that's another issue that really requires the two countries to work together with each other and with the rest of the world."

What's next?

• Biden and China's President Xi Jinping are expected to be meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in San Francisco this week. Observers believe the leaders will strive to stabilize the tension between the two nations, but don't expect any major revelations. The planned meeting comes at a time of stress between the two countries over issues like Taiwan and the South China Sea.
• The climate agreement comes less than a month before countries gather in Dubai for COP28, where the two governments are expected to agree to new pledges to fight climate change. In the joint statement, the nations said:

"Both countries stress the importance of COP 28 in responding meaningfully to the climate crisis during this critical decade and beyond."

How do you feel about the U.S.-China climate deal?

-Jamie Epstein

(Photo credit: iStock/TheaDesign)