Both the United States and China last week announced goals for cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
On Wednesday, US President Barack Obama pledged that the US would cut emissions 17% below 2005 levels, equivalent to about 3% below 1990 levels–the benchmark used by the United Nations.
Obama’s pledge rests on his political word. He must now work to push climate change legislation through the US Congress. The 17% target is the same as the target set in US House legislation passed last
summer. Pending US Senate legislation calls for 20% cuts, but the fate of that bill is in question.
Obama also said he will attend the upcoming Climate Summit in Copenhagen, taking place December 7-18. He will attend on December 9, meaning he will not be on hand at the end of the conference when the most intense negotiating is likely to happen. The choice of timing has drawn criticism from some who say he is not taking the meeting seriously enough, after he and other world leaders scaled back ambitions for reaching a legally binding agreement earlier in the month.
On Thursday, China announced a goal to slow the growth of its greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. Rather than a hard target on overall emissions, China said it would reduce its carbon intensity–the amount of carbon dioxide per unity of economic output–by 40% to 45% by 2020.
The announcements made by both countries are likely to smooth the negotiating process at Copenhagen, however, neither target is particularly ambitious. Existing Chinese policies are likely to put the nation on route for its target, meaning the country may not stretch its efforts any further. And the U.S. will have a steep climb after 2020, to reach the goal of 83% cuts by 2050, which Obama also pledged.
Read New York Times coverage at the link below.
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