China and India signed an agreement Wednesday that aims to stabilize greenhouse gas emissions in Asia–a move that suggests the two countries with rapidly expanding economies and emissions may be prepared to join the next international climate treaty.
According to a copy of the final text obtained by Reuters, the 16 nations of the East Asia Summit “commit to the common goal of stabilizing atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations in the long run, at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system.”
In addition, the document says the Southeast Asian nations including China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand agreed that “all countries should play a role in addressing the common challenge of climate change, based on the principles of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities; and that developed countries should continue to play a leading role in this regard.”
The UN’s climate change conference convenes in Bali, Indonesia in two weeks to begin negotiating a follow up to the Kyoto Protocol, which concludes in 2012. As non-industrialized nations, China and India were excluded from the emission-cutting targets of the Kyoto Protocol.
President George W. Bush pulled the U.S. out of the Kyoto agreement, saying it would put the U.S. economy at a disadvantage to the burgeoning Chinese and India economies, which were not required to scale back emissions.
World and environmental leaders have called for the inclusion of China and India in any global initiative that follows the Kyoto pact.
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