BAKU, AZERBAIJAN – Just weeks after scientists reported that global greenhouse gas emissions have surged to new highs, the California-China Climate Institute convened top national, city, and state leaders from the U.S. and China – the world’s two biggest emitters – at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan to deepen collaboration and accelerate climate action.
“Alarm bells are ringing around the globe and it’s imperative we find ways to come together to cut climate pollution – and states, provinces, and cities in the U.S. and China must continue to lead,” said former California Governor and California-China Climate Institute Chair Jerry Brown.
The day-long U.S.-China Subnational Climate Leaders Dialogue at COP29 was hosted by the Institute, and co-organized with two of America’s leading subnational climate action coalitions – America Is All In and the U.S. Climate Alliance. The convening provided subnational climate leaders the opportunity to establish and strengthen ties and discuss progress and challenges in their jurisdictions, with the aim of identifying ways to help implement the Sunnylands Statement, and drive increasingly ambitious climate action at the state and city level.
To advance this work, the dialogue included remarks from Washington Governor Jay Inslee, and a panel discussion focused on the energy transition and reducing non-CO2 emissions between top officials from the states of California, New Mexico, and Maryland, Jiangsu Province, and China’s National Development and Reform Commission. Additionally, city leaders from Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, Hong Kong, Suzhou in Jiangsu Province, and Yantai in Shandong Province discussed their efforts to bolster climate adaptation and resilience.
The event also featured remarks from China’s Special Envoy for Climate Change Liu Zhenmin, U.S. Deputy Special Envoy for Climate Rick Duke, China’s National Development and Reform Commission Deputy Director General Guo Rui of Department of International Cooperation and others.
This dialogue builds on the U.S.-China High-Level Event on Subnational Climate Action the Institute hosted in Berkeley in May, and the U.S.-China Subnational Climate Action Roundtable in Beijing during Senior Advisor to President Biden for International Climate Policy John Podesta’s trip to China in September.
The Institute was represented at COP29 by its Director Dr. Fan Dai, who in addition to helping lead the dialogue, participated in a number of events in Baku during the conference. This included a convening to preview the US-China Subnational Methane Dashboard, which is being developed by the Institute in collaboration with EDF, the University of Hong Kong, Nanjing University. This online database and interactive platform will track global subnational methane mitigation actions by collecting and analyzing methane-related governmental policy documents, monitoring subnational progress in methane mitigation, and compiling global methane mitigation pilot projects and best practices.
The University of California-wide California-China Climate Institute is housed jointly at the Rausser College of Natural Resources and UC Berkeley’s School of Law – through its Center for Law, Energy & the Environment. The Institute is chaired by former California Governor Jerry Brown with longtime global climate leader and former chair of the California Air Resources Board Mary Nichols serving as vice chair. Through research, training and dialogue, the Institute aims to inform policymakers, foster cooperation and partnership, and drive climate solutions at all level.