China’s climate envoy Xie Zhenhua stood beaming beside his US counterpart John Kerry as the UN COP28 summit closed. He had brought his eight-year-old grandson from Beijing to Dubai to wish his friend a happy 80th birthday, he said, as the two men marked the end of an unusual chapter in diplomacy.
Xie, 74, retired from his position at the end of last year as he recovered from a stroke, while Kerry told his staff last weekend that he would step aside as US climate envoy to support Joe Biden in the US presidential campaign, though he would continue to “speak out” on climate change.
The two warhorses spoke again last week, he said, at a joint working group on agreement they collaborated on to crack down on methane from coal, oil and gas leaks.