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In a rare show of solidarity and despite not signing up to some of the key deals agreed at the COP26 summit, China has issued a joint statement with the US saying they are to step up co-operative efforts to tackle climate change.

The framework agreement was announced by US climate envoy John Kerry and his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua. Both countries – the world’s two biggest emitters - pledge to "recall their firm commitment to work together" to achieve the 1.5C temperature goal set out in the 2015 Paris Agreement.

China burns nearly as much coal as the rest of the world combined. Yet it refused to sign the deal reached in Glasgow to end coal use. So how significant is the joint pledge? Newsday got reaction from Alex Wang - Professor of Law at UCLA Law School – who is a leading expert on environmental law and the law and politics of China.

"The most important thing to me is the focus on action in the coming decade. The big questions is how quickly China, in particular, will move in the next few years. They came out and said they recognise the ambition is not enough to hit 1.5 degrees which is the global goal. And they're setting forth - admittedly with a lot of detail - the idea that you'd take more action in the 2020s."

"There's a massive effort to push the (Chinese) bureaucracy towards a greener way of moving the economy. At least the targets are in place and the effort to put the machine in motion are in place for sure."

(Pic: China’s chief climate negotiator Xie Zhenhua at the COP26 in Glasgow; Credit: Reuters)

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