US, China Start New Climate Era After Veteran Envoys Step Down
John Kerry and Xie Zhenhua have left their successors plenty to work with, but their challenges are already starting to mount.
Xie Zhenhua, China's special envoy for climate change, left, and John Kerry, US special presidential envoy for climate, at COP28 in Dubai.
Photographer: Hollie Adams/BloombergThe world’s two biggest greenhouse gas emitters are charting a new course for cooperation after the departures of John Kerry and Xie Zhenhua — two titans of climate diplomacy who paved the way for landmark agreements.
Representing the US and China, the two men spent years on opposite sides of the negotiating table hammering out global deals to cut planet-warming emissions. Their close personal relationship has endured even as ties between the two superpowers deteriorated over issues from trade to Taiwan, which is set to become a renewed source of tension after a weekend election that returned the US-friendly ruling party to power.