After days of negotiations between the countries, the deal was reached.
Big Climate Deal
The two largest greenhouse gas emitters in the world have reached an agreement on a framework for combating climate change.
According to Reuters, the surprise announcement was made by US and Chinese spokespersons at the UN Climate Change Conference. According to Reuters, the agreement included more ambitious goals for reducing emissions, reducing deforestation and strengthening efforts to combat methane in the 2020s.
Both sides now hope to keep within the 1.5 degree Celsius limit of global warming with the new framework. This ambitious goal was originally established during the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.
"Climate Change is becoming an increasingly urgent problem," XieZhenhua, a spokesperson for China's delegation, told the press. "We hope that this joint declaration will contribute to the success of COP26."
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John Kerry, US Special Envoy on Climate Change, agreed with the sentiment, saying that "The two largest economies of the world have agreed not to cooperate in this crucial decade."
Surprise Announcement
According to The Guardian, many people at the event were surprised by the deal. The fact is that the two countries were involved in a mud-slinging contest with each other since the beginning of the climate conference.
NPR reported that former US President Barack Obama harshly criticised Russia and China for their "dangerous lack" of urgency in combating climate change. Xie also criticized Washington with a broadside, saying that they are not like other countries who pulled out of the Paris Agreement after signing into negotiations.
If the untold suffering and fate of humanity weren't in the consequences, all the schoolyard spats among our world leaders would be quite darkly amusing. The Guardian reports that Kerry and Xie reached an agreement after they met to discuss the matter over several weeks.
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The deal is still very tentative and could be dissolved at any moment because world leaders sometimes behave like children. However, it's a huge step forward in the fight against the environment.
READ MORE: China and the US have agreed to intensify cooperation in climate change [Reuters]
Climate change: The United Nations warns of "endless suffering" due to climate disaster
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