UN Secretary-General, Mr Ban Ki-moon, who is in China to witness the declaration, received the plan to join the agreement from American President, Mr Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart, President Xi Jinping.
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Where there is a will and there is a vision and where countries like China and the United States are prepared to show leadership and to lead by example it is possible for us to create a world that is more secure, more prosperous and more free than the one that was left for us.
The two leaders, who held a bilateral meeting Saturday before the opening of the G-20 summit, also agreed to partner on limiting pollution from global aviation and hydrofluorocarbons.
“Important progress was also made in fighting cyber crimes, coping with the Ebola epidemic in Africa, and facilitating a comprehensive agreement on the Iranian nuclear issue”, Xinhua cited Xi as saying on US-China cooperation.
Dr. Panagariya told a group of Indian journalists that the climate change issue had become the most contentious issue during the drafting of the G-20 communiqué.
HANGZHOU, China (AP) – Launching his final tour through Asia, President Barack Obama arrived in China on Saturday planning to spotlight U.S.
On Saturday, the two countries formally adopted that agreement, created to cap carbon emissions and the impact of climate change, in a move that they hope will inspire other nations and lead to its implementation by the end of the Obama presidency. The U.S. and China, the world’s two largest emitters, represent about 38 percent of total global emissions.
It is the world’s biggest polluter and responsible for about 25 percent of global carbon emissions. There is hope their agreement on climate change, may spur nations such as Canada, the United Kingdom and Brazil to act as well. If those countries follow through, the deal should clear the threshold required for entry into force.
Climate change is a rare bright spot in the US relationship with China, which has suffered amid tension over hacking and uncertainty about trade. After repeated failures to reach consensus at worldwide global warming negotiations, US and Chinese officials embarked on a years-long diplomatic push to find common ground on climate change.
Obama and Xi discussed their exercise routines, the history of the site, and stopped for a drink of tea.
In a statement, she also cautioned against being too optimistic: “While people celebrate the agreement, let’s remember there is still a risky gap between what the governments are signing up to, what they are doing, and the real ambition we need to avert the worst impacts of climate change”.
The standing committee of China’s National People’s Congress voted to adopt “the proposal to review and ratify the Paris Agreement” at the closing meeting of a week-long session, the news agency said.
The agreement forged by 195 nations last December in Paris sets non-binding targets for the reduction of carbon emissions that most scientists blame for rising temperatures and sea levels. Obama began his weeklong trip to Asia with a ceremony hailing the agreement, seeking to set the tone for his final presidential visit to a region where he has struggled to re-focus US foreign policy.
United Nations climate chief Patricia Espinosa said: “I would like today to thank China and the United States for ratifying this landmark agreement – an agreement on which rests the opportunity for a sustainable future for every nation and every person”. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) said in a statement.
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Ahead of the G20 summit, leaders of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) will meet to finalise their strategy for highlighting issues exercising emerging economies.
