U.S. Official asks China to do more to tackle climate change

• Chinese President Xi Jinping is not attending the COP26 climate change summit

• White House Advisor said COP26 is not the end of the race to tackle climate change

U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Monday that China—the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases—should do more to tackle climate change.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is not attending the COP26 climate change summit and will instead send a written message to delegates.

Sullivan said, "They (China) are a big country, with a lot of resources and a lot of capabilities, and they are perfectly well capable of living up to their responsibilities and it is up to them to do so."

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"We are filling our end of the bargain at COP. The fact that China isn't is not something that they can readily point to us," he said.

Not the end of race

Sullivan also pointed out that the United Nation’s COP26 summit is not the end of the race to tackle climate change.

The world must continue working towards addressing climate change issues for the rest of the decade, he added.

Sullivan, who arrived in Glasgow before U.S. President Joe Biden, said the summit was "an incredibly important opportunity for us to get sufficient commitments and sufficient momentum".

"It is also critical for us to recognise that the work is going to have to continue after everyone goes home from Glasgow," he added.

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"We cannot afford to falter in terms of making meaningful progress and building meaningful momentum here, but this is not the end of the race."

On Sunday, Britain’s Prince Charles said that COP26 is the “last chance saloon” to save the world from climate change. He said that countries are already facing more heatwaves, wildfires, floods and droughts.

The 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP26, is being held in Glasgow, United Nations. The summit was postponed last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

It was later agreed that the summit will be held between 31 October, 2021 to 12 November, 2021.

Picture Credits: Reuters