Having the two largest polluters on the planet working on such a deal is really big news. The news out of Washington yesterday about stepping up the gas mileage for US cars is another positive move. If China can demand a 38 mpg minimum today from the car industry, there is no reason why the US has to settle for less. The Guardian:
The initiative, involving John Holdren, now the White House science adviser, and others who went on to positions in Barack Obama's administration, produced a draft agreement in March, barely two months after the Democrat assumed the presidency.
The memorandum of understanding was not signed, but those involved in opening up the channel of communications believe it could provide the foundation for a US-Chinese accord to battle climate change, which could be reached as early as this autumn.
"My sense is that we are now working towards something in the fall," said Bill Chandler, director of the energy and climate programme at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and the driving force behind the talks. "It will be serious. It will be substantive, and it will happen."
