Surprise US-China climate deal is about more than emissions

Phillip Coorey, Hans van Leeuwen and Michael Smith

Nov 11, 2021 – 6.11pm

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A climate change agreement between the United States and China is a significant step in terms of easing tensions between the superpowers, analysts say, while the Australian government expresses hope that, at a minimum, China will start helping to reduce global emissions and commit to net zero by 2050.

The surprise agreement, negotiated on the sidelines of the COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow, comes ahead of a virtual meeting in coming days between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in New Zealand.

Phillip Coorey is the political editor based in Canberra. He is a two-time winner of the Paul Lyneham award for press gallery excellence.

Hans van Leeuwen covers British and European politics, economics and business from London. He has worked as a reporter, editor and policy adviser in Sydney, Canberra, Hanoi and London.

Michael Smith is the health editor for The Australian Financial Review. He is based in Sydney.