I wrote in December about the Carbon Budget 2012 report from the Global Carbon Project. As you can see, China and the US are well ahead of the pack in carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel combustion – from power, transportation, buildings and industry.
The US Department of State and China issued a quietly powerful communiqué the other day which gives us reason to believe that the issue of climate change and clean energy is getting a powerful boost. “Both sides recognize that, given the latest scientific understanding of accelerating climate change and the urgent need to intensify global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, forceful, nationally appropriate action by the United States and China – including large-scale cooperative action – is more critical than ever.” There is quite a bit more, including the formation of a working group to highlight key areas of cooperation that can be implemented when high-level meetings take place this coming summer. John Kerry, an avowed climate hawk, will lead those meetings for the US. In the meantime, the Office of the Special Envoy for Climate Change, led by Todd Stern, will be focused on serious talks with the Chinese to effect some serious initiatives, in the words of the joint statement, to advance their “common interest in developing and deploying new environmental and clean energy technologies that promote economic prosperity and job creation while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”
