Record breaking heat waves, wildfires, devastating flooding.

As millions of people across the globe cope with extreme weather, critical talks get underway in Beijing between the United States and China. 

Can the world’s top economies find common ground on the climate crisis? 

China’s special envoy for climate change Xie Zhenhua met with his American counterpart John Kerry in Beijing on Monday, in what the two countries hope are substantial talks on climate action. The meetings, scheduled through Wednesday, are expected to focus on accelerating efforts on clean energy and reducing carbon emissions.

Joining the discussion:

• Yixing Xu is the Former Research Director of Breakthrough Energy. 
• Michael K. Dorsey is the Director of Sustainability Solutions Service at Arizona State University and Chair Professor at ASU’s College of Global Futures. 
• Paul Bledsoe is an adjunct professor with the Center for Environmental Policy at American University. 
• Changhua Wu is the CEO of the Beijing Future Innovation Center.  

I’ve just finished the first day of conversations in Beijing as the entire world is living the reality of daily record-breaking heat. The climate crisis demands that the world’s two largest economies work together to limit the Earth’s warming. We must take urgent action on a… pic.twitter.com/o1fPdl6PhD

— Climate @ State (@ClimateAtState) July 17, 2023

US climate envoy John Kerry said it was ‘imperative that China and the United States make real progress’ in the four months before the COP28 global climate talks in Dubai, as he met his counterpart Xie Zhenhua in the Chinese capital https://t.co/zG5TZiZeAy pic.twitter.com/oWvfZnleJr

— Reuters (@Reuters) July 17, 2023