Top EU, China climate officials to hold talks next week

(Reuters, 10 Nov 2023) The European Union and China's top climate change officials will meet in Beijing for talks next week, ahead of the United Nations' COP28 climate summit, an EU official told Reuters.

Nearly 200 countries are set to gather from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12 in Dubai for this year's U.N. climate negotiations, their annual chance to strike global deals to tackle climate change.

EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra will travel to Beijing next week for talks with China's top climate envoy Xie Zhenhua, the EU official said.

It will be their first in-person meeting since Hoekstra, a former Dutch foreign minister, took over responsibility for climate change policies in the 27-country EU last month.

The meeting will be a chance for each side to air their positions and lay the groundwork for deals at COP28, where countries will consider a variety of issues, including whether to agree to phase out carbon-dioxide-emitting fossil fuels.

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Reuters, 10 Nov 2023: Top EU, China climate officials to hold talks next week