Dear Focus Reader,

Global leaders are currently gathered in Dubai for COP 28, the annual United Nations climate meeting, including U.S. President Joe Biden, U.S. Climate Envoy John Kerry, and his Chinese counterpart, Xie Zhenhua.

The last phase of the climate talks wrapping up next week is mainly focused on whether the world's biggest polluters, such as China, the U.S., and the European Union, can reach an agreement on when and how to switch from using fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. The differing opinions on transitioning to cleaner energy between the U.S. and China, as well as the EU and China, make the upcoming days crucial for seeing how the talks unfold.

China has outpaced its renewable energy adoption goals in recent years, deepening its position as the world's largest and fastest-growing producer of renewable power, yet at the same time continues to build more coal-fired power plants. Additionally, Xie announced that Beijing will wait until 2025 to issue its national carbon emission targets and policy for 2030 and 2035, raising concerns by some experts that China may postpone its planned carbon emissions cuts by another two years. Beijing has previously pledged to reach peak carbon emissions before 2030 and zero them out before 2060.

The U.S., meanwhile, has seen its carbon emissions drop over this last year, continuing a general trend over the past 15 years, driven in part by an ongoing reduction in coal consumption. Yet the country still remains behind its Paris Climate Agreement targets, and remains the world's largest oil and gas producer.

Stay up to date on the latest global developments by catching up on our latest Focus content, including topics covering China-U.S. competition and cooperation, the Xiangshan Forum, and Taiwan.