Despite friction over international trade, US climate envoy John Podesta says he’s pushing China to do more to reduce emissions and contribute more funding to developing countries to help them cope with the effects of rising temperature.White House global climate envoy John Podesta speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington, Wednesday, May 29, 2024.
Few other problems will be solved as simply as switching around some ingredients. Although Podesta has worked on climate issues for years, the complications and obstacles have only multiplied as scientists warn thatIn the interview, Podesta said he saw opportunities to work with China to limit greenhouse gas emissions that are even more potent than carbon dioxide. However, trade disagreements between the U.S.
It’s high stakes for a 75-year-old veteran of Democratic politics who was recently considering retirement.two years ago, pumping $375 billion into the fight against climate change.
Podesta described the conversations as a give and take: “He was pushing me, I was pushing him.” The U.S. and China have opportunities to improve their reductions in emissions of methane and hydrofluorocarbons, he said, and “the world is looking to us to find ways where we can work together.”However, a sticking point will be an area known as climate finance.
China has resisted any requirements to put its own money into the pot, but Podesta emphasized that it’s the world’s top emitter of greenhouse gases “and it does have an obligation to the rest of the world to contribute.”