Chinese, U.S. climate officials to meet

(ECNS) Liu Zhenmin, China’s special envoy on climate change, will hold talks with John Podesta, senior adviser to United States president for international climate policy, in the U.S. from Tuesday to May 16, according to the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.

Under the guidance of a consensus reached by Chinese and U.S. leaders, the two will exchange in-depth views over the Sunnylands Statement on Enhancing Cooperation to Address the Climate Crisis and other consensuses reached between the two countries and on promoting practical outcomes in China-U.S. climate cooperation, the ministry noted in a media release.

The Sunnylands statement was released after Xie Zhenhua, China’s former special envoy for climate change, met his U.S. counterpart John Kerry at Sunnylands, California, from Nov 4 to 7.

According to the statement, both sides have agreed to restart the U.S.-China Energy Efficiency Forum to deepen policy exchanges on energy-saving and carbon-reducing solutions in key areas such as industry, buildings, transportation and equipment.

The two countries also intend to restart bilateral talks on energy policies and strategies, carry out exchanges on mutually agreed topics, and facilitate track II activities to enhance pragmatic cooperation, it noted.

It said the two countries aim to advance at least five large-scale climate cooperation projects each by 2030, including from industrial and energy sources.

The ministry said in the release that Liu will also hold talks concerning climate change with United Nations bodies, as well as other authorities and think tanks in the U.S. during the visit.