COP26: China, Russia hit back at Biden's jibe, slam US on climate policies

Russia and China have defended their measures on climate change in the face of criticism from US President Joe Biden, and both nations have criticised the US for 'backsliding' on its climate plans.

The Kremlin stated that a potential second summit between Biden and President Vladimir Putin would provide an opportunity to further examine the problem.

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Dmitry Peskov, a spokesperson for the Kremlin, told reporters that global warming was causing not just Russia's vast arctic wildness, but also Californian woods to burn.

Watch | US President Biden criticises China and Russia for missing COP26 Climate Summit

Peskov added: "I'm convinced that when the presidents next talk - the usefulness of which we have already agreed on, as we've mentioned before - I think President Putin will have an excellent opportunity to tell President Biden about what we're doing on climate."

Xie Zhenhua, China's main climate negotiator in Glasgow, criticised Biden's predecessor Donald Trump for withdrawing the US from the Paris Agreement, saying it was time to "work harder and catch up."

Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, slammed the United States' "empty slogans" on climate change.

"China has been earnestly supporting #ClimateAction. We are not the ones who withdrew from the Paris Agreement. The US, however, has back-pedalled on its climate policies many times. Instead of blame-shifting, what it should do now is to shoulder responsibility and take concrete actions, " he added.

China had alleged that Xi sent a written statement for the summit instead of giving an address by video conference after the organisers did not provide a link.

(With inputs from agencies)