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COP26: China optimistic on climate markets deal after ‘wasted’ years
- Hard work needed to catch up after the US under Donald Trump ‘gave up’ on 2015 Paris Agreement, says top Chinese climate negotiator Xie Zhenhua
- Despite US-China tensions, he says he expects a deal on a global carbon market that could yield huge investments in projects to combat climate change
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China’s top climate negotiator said on Tuesday a broad deal on carbon markets was possible at the UN COP26 climate talks despite the tensions between Beijing and Washington.
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Some delegates say the US-China relationship is crucial for meaningful progress on global climate action at the summit.
It is the first global gathering of leaders to discuss climate change since former US president Donald Trump, who antagonised China and quit the 2015 Paris Agreement the meeting is expected to build on, left office.
“China-US joint efforts resulted in the Paris Agreement … It was hard-fought, you can’t just give up, but the US gave up,” Chinese climate negotiator Xie Zhenhua told reporters at the Glasgow talks. “Five years were wasted, but now we need to work harder and catch up.”
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Xie said he expected countries to reach a deal in Glasgow to agree on the rules around carbon market that fall under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.
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