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US, China Seek Comprehensive Climate Pact: Obama

Posted on: Tuesday, 17 November 2009, 13:39 CST

The U.S. and China want next month’s climate change negotiations in Denmark to conclude with a global accord with "immediate operational effect,” said President Barack Obama on Tuesday.

The two nations "agreed to work toward a successful outcome in Copenhagen," Obama said during a press conference following talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao.

"Our aim there is... not a partial accord or a political declaration, but rather an accord that covers all the issues in the negotiations and one that has immediate operational effect,” the AFP news agency quoted Obama as saying.

"This kind of comprehensive agreement would be an important step forward in our effort to rally the world around a solution to our climate challenge.”

However, the president did not disclose specific details, and a joint statement issued after the two leaders spoke simply reiterated support for previously stated U.N. climate change objectives.

Obama, Hu and other Asia-Pacific leaders conceded on Sunday that it would be unrealistic to achieve a legally binding agreement during the Copenhagen conference.

The AFP quoted one diplomatic source in Copenhagen as saying a proposed end-of-summit statement would include a promise of "fast-track" finance. 

Such funds would help poor nations manage the impacts of global warming and transition to lower-carbon energy.  The funds could be quickly disbursed before a formal treaty is sealed next year.

According to the World Resources Institute (WRI), China and the U.S. are the world's top two carbon emitters, accounting for a combined 37.5 percent of total global emissions of the six primary greenhouse gases.

The two nations’ positions are vital to the ultimate results of the Copenhagen conference, a two-year process that seeks to establish a post-2012 global treaty to combat climate change.

China insists that wealthy nations are historically responsible for spurring climate change, and that developing nations should not be legally bound to reduce carbon emissions blamed for rising temperatures.

The U.S., on the other hand, has called for more aggressive steps by China to reduce carbon emissions.

Obama said that China and the U.S. had both agreed to take significant steps to cut carbon emissions.

"We agreed that each of us would take significant mitigation actions and stand behind these commitments," Obama said during the press conference as Hu looked on.

"As the two largest consumers and producers of energy, there can be no solution to this challenge without the efforts of both China and the United States."

Hu said the two leaders had agreed to work together toward a Copenhagen agreement, but reiterated Beijing's insistence on the different "responsibilities" held by wealthy and poor nations in addressing the issue.

"We also agreed to act on the basis of common but differentiated responsibilities and consistent with our respective capabilities to work with other parties concerned to help produce positive outcomes from the Copenhagen conference," Hu said.

China emphasized that its per capita emissions, though rapidly increasing, remain far below those of the U.S. due to its vast population of 1.3 billion people.

During a September U.N. summit in China, Hu said his country would cut the intensity of its carbon emissions as a percentage of economic growth by a "notable margin" by 2020 from their 2005 levels.

After the joint discussions between Hu and Obama, the conservationist group Greenpeace released a statement that was openly critical of what it called Obama’s continued "lack of leadership."

"In the lead-up to Copenhagen, Obama is still failing to address the most important issue that is causing the disagreements between the two countries at the climate talks, which is the absence of an emission reduction target from the US," said Greenpeace U.S.A. legislative director Kyle Ash.

Source: RedOrbit Staff & Wire Reports

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