THE SQUIZ

In another sign of renewal of the US-China relationship, senior Biden administration official John Kerry has arrived in Beijing for talks on addressing the climate crisis. The Special Presidential Envoy for Climate is following in the footsteps of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who have made the trip to China in the last month after several years of tensions due to the pandemic and geopolitical differences. The 2 nations are the world’s biggest economies and the largest polluters, and they have previously put aside their differences to work on initiatives to reduce emissions. But over the last 12 months, it’s been a bumpy road to hold talks, let alone convert words into actions. 

HOW SO? 

We don’t have to remind you that the US and China have been going at it over the last few years… Amidst all that, officials kept the climate chat going and struck an agreement at the 2021 Glasgow climate talks. Then, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi went to Taiwan in August last year, which really got Beijing’s goat… It’s taken since then for Kerry to score an invitation to meet with his counterpart Xie Zhenhua and possibly President Xi Jinping. The 2 countries account for nearly 40% of global emissions, and China burns more coal than the rest of the world combined. They are also the 2 largest investors in clean energy, but Kerry says things aren’t moving quickly enough, and he is “really looking for some specific actions that are going to move the ball here.” And if the 2 sides need a prompt to get a wriggle along, Kerry will land in Beijing in sweltering conditions… 

WHAT’S THE NORTHERN SUMMER BEEN LIKE THIS YEAR?

Ooh it’s hot… Many Aussies on their European holidays will have been saying ‘geez it’s hot’ a lot in recent days – southern parts of the continent are officially scorchio. In the US, 110 million people – a third of Americans – were under extreme heat advisories, watches and warnings yesterday, and forecasters say conditions are set to worsen. There are record-breaking wildfires in Canada. In South Korea, more than 30 people are dead due to extreme rainfall in the central city of Cheongju. And it’s extra hot in Israel, where PM Benjamin Netanyahu was hospitalised on Friday after venturing in the sun without a hat and water. “Not a good idea,” he said. No, El Niño, it’s not…