Experts call for increased public urgency on climate change
Beijing — Two of the world's largest emitters of greenhouse gases are arguing on Twitter over climate policies. } was signed into law Tuesday by President Biden.
"There is no doubt America will deliver on its promises," US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns tweeted on Wednesday, using the flag emoticon for "America." He called on China to resume suspended climate talks, writing that it was "ready".
Punchy exchanges that are part of longer exchanges on Twitter represent broader concerns. Cooperation between the United States and China is widely seen as essential to the success of global efforts to curb temperature rise.Taiwan Some have questioned whether the two countries can work together because of the issue.
China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded in its own tweet on Tuesday night.
The verbal skirmish follows China's suspension of talks with the United States on climate change and several other issues earlier this month as part of protests against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan. leaving the edge.108} .
Climate change is one of the few areas of cooperation between rival nations. U.S. officials criticized China's move, with Secretary of State Anthony Brinken saying, "We don't punish America, we punish the world."
China's foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian last week urged the United States to "fulfill its historical responsibility and due obligation on climate change and stop looking for excuses for inaction."
The Department later tweeted part of his response, and Burns responded four days later with a tweet about the US climate bill. Using the acronym for the People's Republic of China, he concluded:
China elaborated on "Can the US deliver?" The message included his second tweet suggesting US action, including the lifting of sanctions imposed last year on solar industry exports from China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region over forced labor allegations. was
Former President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw the US from the Paris Agreement, which Mr. Biden backtracked after taking office last year, has dealt a blow to US confidence on the issue.
A Chinese expert praised some of the US legislation, but said it was overdue and not well advanced. Although there have been some significant achievements, I fear that we will not be able to reestablish US leadership on climate change," said Teng Fei, a professor at the Institute of Energy and Environmental Economics at Tsinghua University.
US Special Envoy for Climate Affairs John Kerry has been pressuring China to set more ambitious climate targets. China responds that its goals are realistic given its development needs as a middle-income country, while the United States has set ambitious targets but has not achieved them.
China's ruling Communist Party does not want its performance to fall, so it is common to set conservative targets at the national level. However, these targets are sometimes exceeded as local officials pursue them diligently.
"China should be able to do better than national targets suggest," said Cory Combs, senior analyst at consulting firm Trivium China. "But, of course, all of these local plans are subject to failure or delay, so it is impossible to fully predict what the sum will be."
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