15 February 2014: US Secretary of State John Kerry has traveled to Beijing, China, where he met government officials to, inter alia, highlight the importance of US-China collaboration on climate change and clean energy. At the conclusion of his meetings, the two sides issued a joint statement on climate change.

In their joint statement, the US and China: recognize the urgent need for action to meet the “twin challenges” of climate change and air pollution from burning fossil fuels; reaffirm their commitment to contribute significantly to global efforts to address these challenges; and indicate they will collaborate, within the framework of the US-China Climate Change Working Group (CCWG), through “enhanced policy dialogue,” including the sharing of information regarding their post-2020 emission reduction plans.

On practical cooperative actions to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and other air pollutants, the joint statement notes that the two sides have “reached agreement on the implementation plans on the five initiatives launched under the CCWG,” namely: Emission Reductions from Heavy Duty and Other Vehicles; Smart Grids; Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage; Collecting and Managing GHG Emissions Data; and Energy Efficiency in Buildings and Industry. The US and China indicate they will “commit to devote significant effort and resources to secure concrete results” on these initiatives by the Sixth U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue in 2014. [US-China Joint Statement] [Details of Secretary of State John Kerry’s Travels] [U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue Initiative]