BBC Online :
China and the US have unveiled new pledges on greenhouse gas emissions, as the leaders of the two countries met for talks in Beijing.
US President Barack Obama said the move was “historic”, as he set a new goal of reducing US levels between 26%-28% by 2025, compared with 2005 levels.
China did not set a specific target, but said emissions would peak by 2030.
The two countries also agreed to reduce the possibility of military accidents in the air and sea.
The news came during a state visit by Obama to Beijing, which followed a major Asian regional summit.
It is the first time China, the world’s biggest polluter, has set an approximate date for emissions to peak.
The two countries together produce about 45% of the world’s carbon dioxide.
The unexpected announcement is a bid to boost efforts to secure a global deal on reducing emissions after 2020, to be finalised next year in Paris. “We agreed to make sure that international climate change negotiations will reach an agreement in Paris,” said Xi, speaking to reporters after the announcement.
This agreement between the great polluters is a landmark in the battle against one of the world’s most intractable problems. For years the US feared if it cut emissions, energy bills would rise – and divert jobs to China. Now the relationship is switching, from “we won’t if you won’t” towards “we will if you will”.
President Obama’s offer is based on cuts in carbon emissions from coal power (a policy the Republicans threaten to reverse).
China’s offer to peak emissions is a long-awaited decision. Its emissions trajectory is now similar to Europe and the USA, just further behind because it still has so many people in poverty.
Scientists will fear this agreement is not yet strong enough. But it does show leadership – and it sends a powerful signal to financiers that investing in dirty fuels for the future is becoming a risk.
The new goal from the US is up from a previous target to cut emissions by 17% by 2020, compared with 2005 levels.
In September, China told a United Nations summit on climate change that it would soon set a peak for carbon emissions and that it would make its economy more carbon efficient by 2020.
China had previously aimed to reduce its carbon intensity, which meant reducing the amount of emissions per dollar of economic output. This meant that with its rapidly growing economy, its emissions could still rise.
