As international leaders prepare to meet in Copenhagen on 7-18 December to try to reach an agreement that would replace the Kyoto Protocol which expires in 2012 and regulate carbon emissions, US President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao, on 17 November vowed a “vigorous response” to climate change. The two leaders said they would cooperate to rescue key global talks on reductions of carbon emissions in Copenhagen. In a joint statement, the two sides said climate change was “one of the greatest challenges of our time” and agreed that a “vigorous response is necessary and that international cooperation is indispensable in responding to this challenge.”
“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,” Obama told reporters as he stood next to Hu at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People.
The two presidents said they had agreed on a “series of important new initiatives” including the creation of a joint clean energy research centre, and cooperation on energy efficiency, renewable energy, clean coal, electric vehicles and shale gas. “We also agreed to work toward a successful outcome in Copenhagen,” Obama said. “Our aim there, in support of what Prime Minister Rasmussen of Denmark is trying to achieve, is not a partial accord or a political declaration, but rather an accord that covers all of the issues in the negotiations, and one that has immediate operational effect,” he said.
Obama said China and the United States “agreed that each of us would take significant mitigation actions” matching their commitments.
The joint statement said both sides “believe that, while striving for final legal agreement, an agreed outcome at Copenhagen should ... include emission reduction targets of developed countries and nationally appropriate mitigation actions of developing countries.”
The statements drew a mixed reaction from international environmental groups Greenpeace and the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF). Greenpeace said it was “once again disappointed by Obama’s lack of leadership.” “Cooperation initiatives on renewable energy and energy efficiency are positive steps both countries are taking on the ground to address climate change,” said Yang Ailun, head of the Climate and Energy Campaign for Greenpeace China. “But more political will is needed from both leaders to ensure a successful outcome at Copenhagen,” Yang said.
Kyle Ash, legislative director for Greenpeace USA, said Obama was “still failing to address the most important issue ... which is the absence of an emission reduction target from the US.”
But WWF’s China director for the Global Climate Initiative, Hou Yanli, said the US and Chinese leaders had “greatly renewed our hopes for a strong and comprehensive deal at Copenhagen.” “A legally binding deal is absolutely necessary and clearly achievable, but we can only get there with political will and bold action from President Obama and President Hu,” Hou said.
Keya Chatterjee, acting director of climate change for WWF-US, said a bi-partisan blueprint from the US Senate was “now the key missing piece” for achieving a binding agreement in Copenhagen.