In a joint statement released on Wednesday, the two said the working group will focus on “energy transition, methane, the circular economy, resource efficiency, low-carbon and sustainable provinces/states and cities, and deforestation”.

They expressed support for a declaration by world leaders at this year’s Group of 20 summit to triple renewable energy capacity globally by 2030, and vowed to work together on a global, legally binding agreement to reduce plastic pollution.

Chinese climate envoy Xie Zhenhua (R) and his US counterpart John Kerry (Photo: VCG)

The agreement was reached following months of negotiations, including talks earlier this month in California between climate envoys John Kerry and Xie Zhenhua.

This is seen as a positive sign ahead of a meeting between US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping in San Francisco and the UN Climate Change Conference to be held in Dubai later this month.

On Tuesday, President Biden said the US has pledged 6 billion USD to the Inflation Reduction Act to combat climate change. President Biden said: “This summer and this fall have been the hottest since the global records began to be kept in the 1800s, the hottest we’ve ever recorded in history. It’s an impact that was decades in the making, because inaction was much too long.”

According to the US administration, the 6 billion USD will be spent on improving the national power grid, dealing with extreme heat, hurricanes, wildfires, droughts, floods, and swiftly rising sea levels.