Climate emergency: John Kerry heads to China to discuss global emissions

US says target to keep global temperature rises to no more than 2°C above pre-industrial levels may be missed

US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry attends a joint news conference at the Bercy Finance Ministry in Paris, France, March 10, 2021. Reuters

US climate envoy John Kerry will visit China this week, the first trip there by a member of the Biden administration.

He is seeking to raise global ambitions in areas such as climate change, despite soaring tensions with Beijing on other fronts.

The former secretary of state will visit Shanghai, as well as South Korean capital Seoul, on a trip starting on Wednesday, the State Department confirmed.

His trip is in preparation for President Joe Biden's virtual climate summit next week, to which the US leader has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"We have big disagreements with China on some key issues, absolutely. But climate has to stand alone," Mr Kerry told CNN.

If refusing to work together on climate, "you're just killing yourself, you're going to be hurting your own people", he said.

Mr Kerry said that Mr Xi had not yet confirmed whether he would take part in the summit.

With global temperatures and natural disasters on the rise, Mr Biden has made climate a top priority, turning the page from his predecessor Donald Trump, who was closely aligned with the fossil fuel industry.

Mr Biden rejoined the 2015 Paris accord, which Mr Kerry negotiated as secretary of state. This committed nations to take action to keep temperature increases at no more than 2°C above pre-industrial levels.

With the world badly off track to meeting the goal, Mr Biden hopes that the summit will result in stronger pledges in advance of UN-led climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland, at the end of the year.

Mr Kerry, who has already travelled on his climate push to the UAE, India, Bangladesh and European allies, , said that he had worked closely with China on the Paris accord.

"We hope that China will come to the table and lead. President Xi has talked about leadership, about China's role in this. We want to work with China in doing this," Mr Kerry said in an interview with India Today.

No global solution is likely without the US and China, the world's top two economies which together account for nearly half the greenhouse gas emissions responsible for climate change.

China alone produces almost 30 per cent of carbon emissions – far more than any country – after decades of rapid industrialisation.

But Mr Xi promised that China's emissions will peak by 2030, part of a major push to clean up the environment.

Mr Biden is also hoping to carry out far-reaching efforts to transform the US economy towards green energy, a key emphasis of his $2 trillion infrastructure package proposed to Congress.

Mr Biden identified climate and global health as among narrow areas in which the US will seek to work with China.

Mr Kerry's trip comes despite a testy initial meeting last month in Alaska between two top Biden officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, with their Chinese counterparts.

At the Anchorage talks, the US raised concerns about matters including human rights and cyber attacks.