From April 15 to 16, 2021, China’s Special Envoy for Climate Change Xie Zhenhua and the US President’s Special Envoy for Climate Issues John Kerry held talks in Shanghai.

After the meeting, China and the United States issued the "China-U.S. Joint Statement on Response to the Climate Crisis" (hereinafter referred to as the "Statement"), which injected positive energy into promoting the global joint response to the climate crisis and also released the full implementation of the Paris Agreement. This has given a positive signal, and explored the great powers to join hands in coping with global crises in the face of the world's great changes.

　　The global climate crisis urgently requires the international community to enhance its "crisis awareness."

At present, the threat of global climate change is escalating, and extreme climate disasters are becoming more severe.

For example, the United States suffered a blizzard and extreme cold at the beginning of the year, which caused a large-scale paralysis of power infrastructure, which seriously affected the well-being of the American people.

Under the COVID-19 pandemic, global greenhouse gas emission reductions are extremely limited. As the global economy recovers, global greenhouse gas emissions will rise again.

　　The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned that once the global temperature rises above the 1.5°C threshold, the frequency and intensity of climate disasters will rise sharply. If global greenhouse gas emissions cannot be reduced by 7.6% per year between 2020 and 2030 , The world will lose the last chance to achieve the 1.5℃ temperature control target.

Therefore, mankind and the earth are accelerating towards a "climate emergency".

The Earth’s climate criticality has exacerbated the threat to global security and will lead to more natural and humanitarian disasters.

　　Both China and the United States and the international community are aware of the climate crisis-the accelerating arrival of the "gray rhino". Therefore, in the "Statement", the two countries agreed to deal with the climate crisis and believe that "China and the United States are committed to mutual cooperation and cooperation with others. Countries work together to solve the climate crisis." The transition from "climate change" to "climate crisis" marks the urgency of the climate issue becoming a global crisis coordination issue.

　　The focus of tackling the climate crisis is to promote the full implementation of the Paris Agreement.

The successful conclusion of the "Paris Agreement" is inseparable from the consensus and joint promotion of the heads of state of China and the United States.

After 2020, the global response to climate change and the governance process depend on the full and effective implementation of the Paris Agreement.

The 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) will be held in Glasgow in November 2021.

The COP26 meeting aims to complete the implementation rules of the Paris Agreement (such as Articles 6 and 13) and greatly increase global climate ambitions including mitigation, adaptation, and support.

UN Secretary-General Guterres stated that 2021 will be related to the success or failure of climate action, and that determining whether the Paris Agreement can be implemented normally requires final actions by countries around the world.

　　The "Statement" mentions that China and the United States are committed to continuing their efforts, including the enhanced actions for the 2020s under the framework of the Paris Agreement. The two sides will cooperate to promote the success of the COP26 meeting.

　　The key to the full implementation of the Paris Agreement lies in the maintenance of fairness, "common but differentiated responsibilities" and the "principle of respective capabilities."

As the largest developed economy, the United States should set an example in reducing emissions, take the lead in fulfilling its climate funding commitments, and provide adequate technical and capacity building support for developing countries to tackle climate change.

Whether the United States can pragmatically improve its ambitions for its new Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) goal is the key to determining whether the COP26 conference and the Paris Agreement can be fully implemented.

　　Advancing the process of global carbon neutrality requires the establishment of a fair, reasonable, and win-win global climate governance system.

At present, the international community has gathered a strong consensus on the green transformation under the carbon-neutral path, and China has taken practical actions to promote global green development.

On April 16, President Xi Jinping stated at a video summit held with French and German leaders that China will strive to achieve the peak of carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. This means that China is the world’s largest Developing countries will complete the world's highest reduction in carbon emission intensity and achieve the transition from carbon peak to carbon neutrality in the shortest time in global history.

This will undoubtedly be a tough battle.

The Chinese dialect must be spoken, the action must be fruitful. China has incorporated carbon peaking and carbon neutrality into the overall layout of ecological civilization construction, and comprehensively promotes the development of a green and low-carbon circular economy.

　　The "Statement" emphasizes that both China and the United States plan to formulate their own long-term strategies to achieve carbon neutrality and net zero greenhouse gas emissions before the 26th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Climate Convention in Glasgow.

Responding to climate change is the common cause of all mankind and should not be a bargaining chip for geopolitics, a target for attacking other countries, or an excuse for trade barriers.

To fully move towards the new process of carbon neutral climate governance, we still need to uphold the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement and other United Nations multilateral governance frameworks, and fully embody the principles of fairness, "common but differentiated responsibilities" and the principles of respective capabilities Build a fair, reasonable, and win-win global climate governance system.

　　The world shares this cold and heat and faces unprecedented global challenges. Only the world can work together to build the foundation of ecological civilization and take the path of green development. Only by practicing a common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable global security concept can we Make up for the deficit, overcome the difficulties together, deal with global crises, and jointly build a universally safe community with a shared future for mankind.

　　Tang Xinhua, Deputy Director and Associate Researcher, Climate Change and Ecological Security Research Center, China Institute of Modern International Relations