Kerry and Xie exit roles that defined generation of climate action

By CHRIS MEGERIAN and SETH BORENSTEIN
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — For years, John Kerry and Xie Zhenhua have been viewed as the two most important people working on global warming. As the top representatives of the United States and China, almost no progress was possible without their involvement. Despite tensions between their two countries, Kerry and Xie managed to forge a tight partnership. Now they’re stepping down from their roles, marking a generational shift in the world of international climate negotiations. Activists and scientists hope that the world’s two biggest emitters of greenhouse gases continue finding ways to collaborate to prevent the planet from heating up to catastrophic levels.