Bridges Trade BioRes • Volume 9 • Number 8 • 1st May 2009
China Not Satisfied with US Progress on Climate Change
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Despite a recent proposal that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions well beyond what was expected, US climate change efforts do not go far enough, China’s climate change delegation head, told Xinhua News in a recent interview following a meeting of the Major Economies Forum.
Members Forum met in Washington DC from 21-22 April to discuss difficult trade and climate-related issues which are threatening to derail plans for an international framework to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012. During these meetings, which were requested by Obama, Su Wei was critical of the US, claiming that America’s strategy for reducing greenhouse house gas emissions is ineffectual.
China wants more from US emissions reductions, tech transfer
Obama has called for a 15 percent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, back to 1990s levels, and the new Waxman-Markey bill being passed through Congress calls for a 20 percent emissions reduction by 2020 (see Bridges Trade BioRes, 3 April 2009, http://ictsd.net/i/news/biores/44634/). Still, China insists that these proposed cuts are not large enough to prevent the potentially devastating effects of climate change and they do not allow adequate room for the economic growth of developing countries.
At a recent UN climate change conference in Bonn, Germany, Su and climate change advisor Xu Huaqing demanded that US emissions be cut by 40 percent below 1990s levels by 2020 (see Bridges Trade BioRes 3 April 2009, http://ictsd.net/i/news/biores/44630/). In Washington, however, Su was more specific, insisting that the US increase its transfer of climate change mitigation and adaptation technology to China, and calling for greater US-China collaboration on the research and development of future technology.
Border tax suggestion stokes fire
Relations between China and the US have been especially strained recently due to speculation that the US would impose a border tax on imported goods from large developing countries like China who do not meet certain emissions targets (see Bridges Trade BioRes, 17 April 2009, http://ictsd.net/i/news/biores/45217/). A border tax would protect domestic industries having to comply with emissions regulations from cheaper foreign imports, like those from China, that have less stringent emissions standards.
China strongly opposes a border tax and believes that its economy should not be penalised, but rather the countries that purchase carbon-intensive goods from China, such as the US, should be held accountable.
Calling the tax a protectionist measure, Su declared that any border tax would result in a trade war. However, on April 27, US Trade Representative Ron Kirk and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke met with Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming to sign over 30 contracts with Chinese business partners amounting to over 10 billion USD.
Kirk emphasised the importance of the US trade relationship with China. “Particularly during the current difficult global economic circumstances, both the United States and China have a tremendous stake in maintaining a vibrant, open international trading system to revive and sustain growth,” Kirk said.
China playing more prominent role in climate negotiations
As the two largest emitters of greenhouse gas, the US and China have been critical of each other’s lack of commitment to any emissions targets since the creation of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997. However, in recent years, China has been asserting a greater role in climate change policy and negotiations.
In 2007, China initiated the National Climate Change Program to address climate change mitigation and adaptation issues and has become a major producer of environmental goods and renewable energy such as wind and solar power. Speaking of the recent meeting in Washington, UN Climate Change Secretariat Yvo de Boer said that China’s efforts should be better recognised. “There is a disconnect…in some countries, the fact that the Chinese are acting on climate change is hugely underappreciated,” de Boer said.
The US has taken bigger steps towards implementing climate change policy under the Obama administration, but it is unlikely that the current Waxman-Markey bill will pass through Congress without major revision, and like Su, de Boer also stated that the US emissions target is not enough. Still, the US has shown a greater willingness to compromise with developing countries, though most progress thus far has been in the form of rhetoric without any tangible plan for action.
Forum hopes to help reach consensus in Copenhagen
The Major Economies Forum, which comprises Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, China, the European Union, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, and the US, continued their climate change negotiations in Washington in preparation for the December COP-15 in Copenhagen. As the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, these developed and developing countries have significant a stake in climate change policy since it will alter their trade relationships and likely burden their economies.
China and other developing countries have requested billions of dollars in aid from developed countries for climate change mitigation and adaptation technologies as well as a removal of trade barriers that prevent technology transfer. Though China is a fast-growing economy, implementation of clean technology will be very expensive.
China says the US and other developed countries have a responsibility to help developing countries finance their climate change strategies. However, no agreement has been reached on these issues, and delegates at the meeting in Washington ran out of time to discuss financial matters. More meetings of the Forum are scheduled in the coming months before Copenhagen, which will be critical since negotiations continue to be mostly words without any specific plan of action.
Todd Stern, the US special envoy for climate change said the meeting made him cautiously optimistic. “I come out of this meeting if anything a bit more optimistic…that does not change the fact that the issues are extremely difficult, that it’s not going to be easy to reach an agreement.”
ICTSD Reporting; “SU Wei: U.S. progress is not big enough,” CHINA CLIMATE CHANGE INFO-NET, 29 April 2009; “U.S. climate talks make progress, with some gaps.” REUTERS, 28 April 2009; “US more optimistic about climate deal after talks,” ASSOCIATED PRESS; 29 April 2009; “Climate-Change Policies Risk Protectionism, China, India Say,” BLOOMBERG, 2 April 2009; “Top Chinese negotiator urges developed countries to commit more in fighting climate change,” XINHUA, 1 April 2009; “U.N.’s Top Climate Change Official: A New Willingness to Tackle Emissions,” US NEWS, 29 April 2009.
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