US and China Announce Historic Agreement on Climate Change
Some excellent news from President Obama’s trip to China: BREAKING: The US and China Just Announced a Huge Deal on Climate—and It’s a Game Changer.
So much for the conventional wisdom that China will never agree to reduce carbon emissions. Two of the world’s major carbon-producing countries have made an historic deal, and of course we can fully expect the Republican Party to freak right out over it.
According to the plan, the United States will reduce carbon emissions 26-28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025, nearly twice the existing target—without imposing new restrictions on power plants or vehicles.
Tuesday’s announcement is equally remarkable for China’s commitment. For the first time, China has set a date at which it expects its emissions will “peak,” or finally begin to taper downward: around 2030. China is currently the world’s biggest emitter of carbon pollution, largely because of its coal-dependent economy, and reining in emissions while continuing to grow has been the paramount challenge for China’s leaders.
The White House said in a statement that China could reach the target even sooner than 2030. It “expects that China will succeed in peaking its emissions before 2030 based on its broad economic reform program, plans to address air pollution, and implementation of President Xi’s call for an energy revolution.”