Climate Change - US and China’s Secret Talks
The US is often criticised for not doing enough to tackle the effects of climate change and its lack of co-operation on an international level when it comes to climate talks. China has also been reluctant to make major changes to tackle global warming if it has detrimental effects on their economic growth, which as a result affects the ability to lift millions of their population out of poverty.
It was revealed this week however that during the Bush administration in autumn 2007 the US and China held secret climate change talks in China. The Guardian reported that this first meeting got off to a tentative start, with China being reluctant to change its climate change policy. Instead China wanted to let the US and the world to become more aware of what it was doing already to tackle climate change, and promote that.
The second meeting between the two nations yielded better results however. The two countries drew up a memorandum of joint action to tackle climate change. Sources at the meeting said they drew up a three point memo envisaging:
- Using existing technology and renewable energy technologies to cut carbon emissions by 20% by 2010
- Co-operating on creating new technologies like carbon capture, carbon storage and better fuel efficiency for cars.
- Both nations signing up to the pending international climate change agreement to be drawn up at the UN summit on climate change to be held in Copenhagen later this year.
There has been no agreement set in stone as yet, and it seems that because of this, the 20% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2010 will not be met by the two nations. However, the talks do represent a willingness to change shown by the US and China which up to now has not been as apparent as many other nations have shown. It also gives a beacon of hope and paves the way for both nations to sign up to an international agreement in Copenhagen this year, which would be a huge step forward in the fight against global warming and climate change.
Tags: Climate Change, Climate Change Talks, global warming, International Climate Change Agreements, International Climate Change Talks