The U.N. climate talks in Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt received an unexpected boost on Monday as U.S. President Joe Biden and China's leader Xi Jinping – representing the world's two biggest emitters of carbon pollution – agreed to resume climate negotiations over cuts in greenhouse gases.
Biden and Xi signaled a deal was struck after a three-hour meeting in Bali, Indonesia on the sidelines of a Group of 20 major economies summit. Beijing had suspended climate talks with Washington in August to protest a visit to Taiwan by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California.
That could add a jolt of momentum to talks at the U.N. Climate Change Conference, known as COP27, which began a week ago and will conclude next weekend. So far they've bogged down with negotiators unable to resolve a raft of sticking points before high-level delegations take over.
"The world expects, I believe, China and the United States to play key roles in addressing global challenges, from climate changes, to food insecurity, and to — for us to be able to work together," Biden told a joint news conference with Xi.
U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will visit China "to follow up on our discussions and continue keeping the lines of communication open between our two countries," said Biden.
China's government said "the two sides will maintain strategic communication and conduct regular consultations" and they "agree to work together to promote the success of the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change," the treaty that serves as a platform for talks.
China has overtaken the United States as the world's biggest carbon polluter each year, but the U.S. tops the list in terms of cumulative emissions – a key issue for advocates of "loss and damage," or climate reparations at the two-week COP27.
