China, U.S. agree to limit greenhouse gases

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/china-us-agree-to-limit-greenhous...

BEIJING — Chinese leader Xi Jinping and President Obama struck a deal Wednesday to limit greenhouse gases, with China committing for the first time to cap carbon emissions and Obama unveiling a plan for deeper U.S. emissions reductions through 2025.

China, the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, pledged in the far-reaching agreement to cap its rapidly growing carbon emissions by 2030, or earlier if possible. It also set a daunting goal of increasing the share of non-fossil fuels to 20 percent of the country’s energy mix by 2030.

Obama announced a target to cut U.S. emissions 26 to 28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025, the first time the president has set a goal beyond the existing 17 percent target by 2020.

The two countries together account for about 40 percent of the world’s greenhouse-gas emissions, and their commitments are likely to energize talks underway to set new post-2020 targets when climate negotiators meet in Paris in December of next year.

“The announcement provides a real shot of momentum for international climate negotiations,” one administration official said before the joint announcement from Obama and Xi. (Like others interviewed, the official was not authorized to talk on the record ahead of the announcement.) “Historically, the U.S. and China have often seemed like antagonists in these negotiations.

The scale of construction for China to meet its goals are huge even by Chinese standards. It must add 800 to 1,000 gigawatts of nuclear, wind, solar and other zero-emission generation capacity by 2030 — more than all the coal-fired power plants that exist in China today and close to the total electricity generation capacity in the United States.

In the United States, Obama faces stiff opposition on climate issues from Republicans, who want to use their control of Congress to curb the power of the Environmental Protection Agency to limit carbon emissions from power plants, a key part of Obama’s “climate action plan.”

And to meet its target, the United States will require to double the pace of carbon pollution reduction from 1.2 percent per year on average from 2005 to 2020 to 2.3 to 2.8 percent per year between 2020 and 2025.

Carbon reduction via direct action.
We know it doesn't work.

This deal between China and US is where all the effort Australia should of put into renewable energy could be now cashed in.

Shame Labor and Liberals were such wet blankets and have disadvantage Australian renewable energy exports.

DaS Energy wrote on Nov 12^th, 2014 at 2:20pm:



Melbourne University's Energy Institute and Beyond Zero Emissions are also today officially publishing a report launched by Australian Greens Deputy Leader, Senator Christine Milne, in Canberra last month showing that it is technically achievable for Australia to move to 100% renewable energy within a decade.


http://christine-milne.greensmps.org.au/content/media-releases/outback-carbon-an...

We could now be leading not only China and USA, the world.

Missed opportunity because of Lib Lab's addiction to coal donations and so being the puppets of the coal lobby.

____ wrote on Nov 12^th, 2014 at 2:26pm:



Cant wait for the Greens officially publishing a report where the $30 Million cash of voter money went.

Missed opportunity because of the Greens addiction to staying on the Gravy Train and so being the puppets of the coal lobby.

____ wrote on Nov 12^th, 2014 at 2:52pm:


Isn't it about time you came to terms that the Treasury don't lie. The $30 Million of voters money Gillard paid for the Greens vote to increase Carbon emissions is written in Hansard! The Greens are yet to publish any account showing the money was not divided up and taken home by Greens member/s!

____ wrote on Nov 12^th, 2014 at 3:00pm:


Thank you, though unfortunately for the Greens its not me saying it, its what's written in the accounts by Treasury and written in Hansard.

Current project of accountability has not yet finished, hindering moving to any new project at the moment!

It is the Greens insisting on 3 year fixed price ETS that led to the Carbon Price being so easily dismantled. Similarly—the Greens will rollover on cutting the RET.

St George of the Garden wrote on Nov 12^th, 2014 at 4:27pm:


LNP and Greens in discussion on that now, its just a matter of coming to a price acceptable by the greens!