US climate envoy John Kerry travels to China

The former secretary of state will travel to China for climate talks as world powers look for ways to follow their pledges under the 2015 Paris accord. A UN summit takes place in Glasgow, Scotland, later this year.

China is the latest stop in Kerry's climate diplomacy tour

US climate envoy John Kerry is traveling to China on Wednesday for talks on how to limit global warming. His trip is the first official Chinese visit from the new Biden administration.

The former secretary of state will visit Shanghai as well as the South Korean capital Seoul, the US Department of State confirmed.

Kerry's visit comes at a time of heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing on several other issues, such as China's treatment of its Uyghur Muslim minority and its crackdown on human rights in Hong Kong.

US President Joe Biden has invited more than 40 world leaders to a video summit on climate change next week, including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"We have big disagreements with China on some key issues, absolutely. But climate has to stand alone," Kerry told CNN in an interview.

The ex-US senator said that global powers must work together to tackle the issue: otherwise "you’re just killing yourself, you're going be hurting your own people."

But will China take part?

With global temperatures and natural disasters on the rise, Biden has made climate a top priority by bringing the US back into the 2015 Paris accord.

His predecessor, Donald Trump, pulled of the UN deal that pledged to keep temperature rises at no more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit).

Kerry said that Xi had not yet confirmed whether he would take part in the summit.

Scientists watch Arctic polar bears to track climate change

Sleepy research participant

This polar bear is participating in the research — although not quite voluntarily. Scientists had to anesthetize the animal first. A Russian study is currently in its main stage to measure the effects of climate change on Arctic wildlife. Polar bears are a focal point of the project.
Scientists watch Arctic polar bears to track climate change

In close contact

The project aims to keep an eye on the health and behavior of the polar bears, and find out more about how they are reacting to the changes in their habitat — changes largely linked to the climate.
Scientists watch Arctic polar bears to track climate change

The poster child of climate change

The Arctic is warming at twice the rate of the rest of the planet. This has gravely afflicted the area's wildlife. Despite being the land’s largest predators, polar bears are one of the most vulnerable species to climate change.
Scientists watch Arctic polar bears to track climate change

No ice, no hunt

Polar bears rely on the sea ice around the Arctic Ocean to hunt for seals and fish. As sea ice shrinks, the apex carnivore is forced to swim for long distances or roam the shore to find food. Paleontologists say that polar bears have maintained their diet for centuries, even during the last period of Arctic warming that occured 1000 years ago.
Scientists watch Arctic polar bears to track climate change

Going after eggs

The bear's diet maintains the balance between seals and fish poplulation, but this is changing. A recent study at the Canadian University of Windsor revealed that the hungry predator has increasingly resorted to foraging for seabird eggs. This, in turn, can eventually trigger a chain of damages to the environment that starts with endangering the seabird species.
Scientists watch Arctic polar bears to track climate change

Exploring the polar bears' favorite hunting habitat

To better understand the impact of climate change on polar bears and how to mitigate its damages, scientists joined the UMKA2021 expedition. It takes place in Russia's Franz Josef Land, an archipelago of almost 200 islands joined together via sea ice, the polar bears' hunting grounds.
Scientists watch Arctic polar bears to track climate change

Measuring vital signs

After capturing the bears, scientists measure and record factors such as their weight, reserve body fat and blood pressure. This helps them find out more about their diet and energy consumption.
Scientists watch Arctic polar bears to track climate change

GPS messages

The bears are then released with GPS tags on their ears that send regular messages to the researchers containing information about their health. Scientists receive the messages in form of emails everyday, The tags also make it possible to track the bears with helicopters and drones.
Scientists watch Arctic polar bears to track climate change

Gone by 2100?

The scientists believe that closely tracking the polar bears could help prevent their extinction. The bear's number is rapidly decreasing and several studies project that they could vanish by the end of the century unless more is done to slow climate change.
Scientists watch Arctic polar bears to track climate change

No texts from the bears

Every time a polar bear dies, its GPS tag stops sending messages. The scientists will no longer receive news from the animal. Only one bear off the mailing list it may be, but for the planet's biodiversity, the decline in the population of this Arctic predator is much more alarming.

Author: Monir Ghaedi