If the world is to make a commitment to fight climate change, each of the giant polluters (the US and China) needs to know the other will jump into the same chilly pool of obligatory curbs on their tailpipes and smokestacks, said the Christian Science Monitor in an editorial yesterday. Excerpts:
Hillary Clinton chose Asia, particularly China, for her maiden voyage next week as secretary of state. While the most urgent issue is Beijing’s help to end a global recession, Clinton’s more planet-saving goal is to enlist China to set curbs on its carbon emissions. Without that, President Obama may not be able to win enough Senate votes for a cap on US greenhouse gases.
As the world’s two largest emitters, China and the US will set the pace this year among all nations in make-or-break negotiations for a post-Kyoto treaty on global warming. The talks end this December with a summit in Copenhagen. But if China isn’t making much of a sacrifice, many US senators, especially those from coal states, may not support CO2 cuts or a treaty seen as reducing US competitiveness. China says it and other developing countries deserve to be allowed to pollute for a while to catch up to modern standards. Clinton must break this standoff. But China has two problems that may keep it from satisfying the US. Rather than slow its economy with emission caps, it wants the West to give it advanced energy technology, such as “clean” coal plants. That’s a cost the US may not be willing to bear given the energy investments it needs. The second is that the Communist Party, despite its green intentions, seems unable to control local chiefs in the provinces who are rewarded for growth and often ignore party mandates. And many of them are part owners in polluting factories.
