China, as one of world’s largest producers of greenhouse gas emissions, has vowed to address the climate change problem through a groundbreaking collaboration with the United States.
Chinese experts have issued a report according to which China and the United States should cooperate in order to address climate change and to create a sustainable global economy. The report was released by Asia Society’s Center on U.S.-China Relations and the Pew Center for Global Climate Change.
Orville Schell, Arthur Ross Director of the Center on U.S.-China Relations, said in a statement:
With a new Presidential administration in the U.S. and an increasing awareness of the dangers to form a new strategic partnership aimed at averting catastrophic climate change. Without the active participation of the two largest producers of greenhouse gases being aggressively committed to reducing emissions, efforts by other nations are bound to fall short of being able to halt climate change.
The report presented two major goals: to draft a roadmap for leaders of the two countries to scale up sharply U.S. – China cooperative projects on energy and climate change; and to catalyze a major new collaboration to put Sino – U.S. bilateral relations on a more stable basis.
The approach for successfully tackling global climate change would include a new set of national policies for both countries, as well as a common agenda that can be sustained over a long run. The reports states that by wisely allocating funds, both governments could help address climate change, as well as advance green technologies and industries that will further lead to economic growth.
The two countries should start the roadmap from a common base, that needs to include acting in concert to find remedies for greenhouse emissions, without losing precious time by awaiting for new legislation, and addressing the problem of fossil fuels, which need to be replaced by more efficient and environmentally-friendly economic systems.
The first step into this partnership should start through a leaders summit as soon as possible, the report suggests. This should help world leaders shape up a global plan for joint-action.
In addition to that, the two countries would also be able to establish the basis for a new collaboration in terms of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies deployment. The report recommends that both China and the United States should have the ultimate goal of commercializing and deploying carbon capture-and-storage technology.
Furthermore, both governments must commit greater public resources and do so in ways that effectively leverage private investment in a clean energy future.
Eileen Claussen, President of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, said in a statement an effective global response to climate change from both countries would advance key technologies and provide a stronger foundation for an effective global climate effort.
