China and the US pledge action on climate change
Both the United States and China pledged to work together to combat global warming in front of nearly 100 heads of state at a daylong conference on climate change at the United Nations on Monday. Negotiators have been struggling to hammer out a deal to cut global emissions by December in Copenhagen, Denmark. The United Nations organizers are hoping that gathering the leaders will give the negotiations new momentum.
President Hu Jintao of China said his country would take four steps toward greener development, although he did not give any specific numerical targets. He said China would cut carbon dioxide emissions by a “notable margin” by 2020 compared with 2005 levels as well as drastically increase the size of forests. China will also increase the use of nuclear or nonfossil fuels to 15% and work to develop a green economy.
President Obama also confirmed the US action to green growth while acknowledging the domestic battles that many countries will face. The world “cannot allow the old divisions that have characterized the climate debate for so many years to block our progress,” he said, adding that forging any kind of consensus would come slowly. “And so all of us will face doubts and difficulties in our own capitals as we try to reach a lasting solution to the climate challenge.”
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