At Davos, Kerry cites progress on China-U.S. climate group
DAVOS, Switzerland — John Kerry, America’s top official on climate change, said Tuesday that the U.S. and China were making progress on putting together a group from both countries to work toward quickly reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
In an interview with The Associated Press during the World Economic Forum gathering in Davos, Mr. Kerry said the two nations, the world’s largest emitters of greenhouse gases, were close to agreeing on the structure of the group and how decisions would be made.
“We are going to work on the practicalities of how we move faster” to reduce emissions, said Mr. Kerry. “Maybe we can help with technology of some kind to help China move faster. Maybe China could help us better understand some things we could do better.”
The agreement was reached during the U.N. climate summit last year in Glasgow, Scotland. For the first time, China agreed to crack down on methane leaks, a highly potent greenhouse gas. On Tuesday, Mr. Kerry said that reducing coal consumption would also be a central area of focus for the group.
The progress report came as government officials, corporate leaders and other elites at the World Economic Forum grappled with how to confront climate change and its devastating effects. A central question was: To what extent can oil and gas companies be part of a transition to lower-carbon fuels?
In different times the question could have been academic, the kind of thing critics of the forum, which takes place in a tony ski village in the Swiss Alps, would say had no relevance to the real world. But today, the question is both practical and urgent, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has forced many countries that depended on Russian oil and gas to make swift changes to energy supplies.
The debate comes as examples of acutely felt impacts of climate change multiply, including recent heat waves in Southeast Asia to flooding in parts of South America. Meanwhile, the world’s top climate scientists have repeatedly warned that increased investments in fossil fuels are hurting chances to keep warming to limit warming and thus avoid even more devastating effects.
Mr. Kerry, Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency, and several European officials argued Tuesday that the war in Ukraine should not be used as an excuse to lose focus on renewable energy goals.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned the 27-nation bloc should never again become dependent on untrustworthy countries, like it did with fossil fuels from Russia, as it moves toward a greener economy.
She said the “economies of the future” will no longer rely on oil and coal, but rather the green and digital transitions will rely on other materials like lithium, silicon metal or rare earth permanent magnets which are required for batteries, chips, electric vehicles or wind turbines.
“We must avoid falling into the same trap as with oil and gas,” she said. “We should not replace old dependencies with new ones.”
Ms. von der Leyen added that the war in Ukraine has strengthened Europe’s determination to get rid of Russian fossil fuels rapidly. EU countries have approved an embargo on coal imports from Russia but member countries have yet to find a deal on sanctions on Russia’s oil and gas.
Attendees in Davos this week were also discussing several other high-priority issues, like the RussiaUkraine war.