Podesta says US, China mull upcoming climate talks within COP29 in Baku

US climate envoy John Podesta wrapped up a three-day visit to China on Friday, as the superpower rivals seek common ground on addressing global warming, Report informs via Reuters.

Podesta met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and climate counterpart Liu Zhenmin for the second round of talks since he was appointed the top US climate adviser earlier this year. In November, the two countries had agreed to "accelerate renewable energy deployment" to substitute coal, oil and gas generation.

After his meetings this time, Podesta told reporters that "some differences" remained between the countries on issues like financing for climate countermeasures, but that they had narrowed, according to Reuters.

The talks came ahead of the COP29 climate conference in Azerbaijan scheduled for November. Countries are also required to submit "nationally determined" contributions by Feb. 10, 2025, as part of the Paris Agreement.

Podesta was quoted as saying that the two sides had "excellent discussions" about the COP forum and that "notwithstanding some friction in our bilateral relationship, we can find places to collaborate." He said there were plans for more talks on curbing methane and other non-CO2 emissions.

The urgency to accelerate climate goals has been underscored by extreme weather affecting China's own economy. The country's Meteorological Administration on Thursday said the average temperature in August was 22.6 C, 1.5 C higher than last year and the hottest since 1961. The number of rivers that have flooded this year is the highest since the government began collecting such data in 1998, according to state media.