US-China: Global Warming Work Ahead on Heels of Presidential Summit

by Jake Schmidt

President Obama with Hu Jintao

Chinese President Hu Jintao  is in D.C. for a State Dinner with President Obama and for a series of meetings over the next three days.  They have a lot on their plate (both literally and figuratively), so climate change won’t be the only thing that they discuss.  But you can sure bet that it will come up.  There are also many parallel energy/climate events occurring in DC while he is here.  Significant progress was made in Cancun on key issues that both countries outlined as critical components of their vision of success for that meeting.  The meetings between the two countries over the next three days are an important opportunity to continue to detail five key components of the international response to global warming.

1. Continuing to find solutions – not shouting, but negotiating

The US and China struck a different tone in Cancun compared to Copenhagen.  They sat down  and discussed in rationale ways the details of each other’s visions for certain issues.  They negotiated (you can bet that it wasn’t all agreement behind closed doors as both sides are tough negotiators).  And they found a way to meet both countries interests – to a large extent – while still beginning to build an international system for addressing global warming that will encourage countries to take action at home, ensure that countries are living up to their commitments, and deliver the needed assistance to help developing countries reduce emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change.  Continued...

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