China Wants a Global Climate Change Treaty in 2011 Blames US

China wants to see a global binding climate change treaty by late 2011. In the China Economic Times, Li Gao, a senior Chinese negotiator on climate change, said the US was to blame for making a deal on global warming impossible in Cancun in 2010. Mr. Li said that his government hopes for a binding climate treaty in South Africa in November, 2011.

Mr. Li oversees the international climate change negotiations office at China's National Development and Reform Commission, the agency that steers economy policy. Mr. Li vowed to keep pressing rich countries to promise deeper cuts to carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from human activity.

"The biggest obstacle comes from the United States," he said. "Without any (climate change) legislation, it can't possibly join in a legally binding international document."

China is the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases from human activity, but with 1.3 billion people, it is also a developing country with average emissions per capita well below those of wealthy economies.

Mr. Li said Beijing would keep pressing for certain principles, including that developing countries like China should not shoulder the same absolute caps on emissions as rich countries.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

Video: China Leading the Green Economy while America's Democracy is Being Undermined

America could be screwed in the 21st century according to US Energy secretary Steven Chu. China is responsible for more than 20 percent of high tech exports while the US is responsible for 15 percent. China is the leader in clean and efficient travel with almost 6 thousand miles of high speed rail under construction while the US has none. China is also bettering America when it comes to innovation. Even American renewable energy firms are setting up in China. Republicans in Congress do not believe in the science behind global warming and this is undermining America's international competitiveness. As China builds its green economy, in the US, democracy is being undermined by laws which give corporations the same rights as people.


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GE’s Immelt Calls Current US Energy Policy "Stupid"

GE's CEO Jeffrey Immelt has indicated that the US needs a national energy policy that puts a long-term price on carbon pollution as China and other nations surge ahead in green technology. GE, based in Fairfield, Connecticut, is the world’s biggest maker of power-generation equipment, GE power-generation equipment provides one-third of the world’s electricity. The GE Energy Infrastructure division includes transmission equipment and smart-meters. As reported in Businesssweek, Immelt said, “China is green, green, green, green -- four greens.” He cited demand, innovation funding, supply chain and public policy as advantages for China over the US. Immelt is a leading advocate in US Climate Action Partnership, a coalition of companies backing stalled legislation that would establish a cap-and-trade. The failure to set new rules promoting “clean” technologies puts the U.S. at risk, he said. “You actually have to have an energy policy,” Immelt said. “It’s stupid what we have today.” China and other industrialized counties are pulling ahead of the US in the race to lead in clean energy because policy makers in Washington have been caught up in debates on issues such as the effects of climate change, Immelt said. “The rest of the world is moving 10 times faster than we are, and that’s going to mean someday fewer jobs, it’s going to mean less energy security, it’s going to mean lots of other things other than just climate change,” he said. Immelt, who also called for a national standard requiring the use of renewable energy, said GE won’t give up on pushing to change US energy policy. Immelt indicated that the US needs to establish a “long-term price signal” on carbon emissions, in order for companies to provide “appropriate funding for innovation.” Such moves would create jobs rather than shift them overseas, Immelt said. Related Posts Video: The Wisdom of Private Sector Investments in CleanTech GE's Investments in Green are Paying Off Growing US Corporate Investments are Driving Cleantech in 2010 US Cap-and-Trade: Obstacles and Solutions US Cap-and-Trade: Positioning Your Business

California's Proposition 23

On November 2nd, 2010, Californians will vote on Proposition 23, the ballot initiative that would suspend the state’s landmark Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32).

AB 32 was signed into law by Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Governor of California, on September 27, 2006. The bill establishes a timetable to bring California into near compliance with the provisions of the Kyoto Protocol.

If passed, Prop 23 would put on hold a state renewable energy target, a market for rights to trade greenhouse gases and many other steps adopted under the state's AB 32. Put simply, the passage of Prop 23 would eliminate green jobs and increase pollution.

Supporters of Prop 23 have received contributions that top $9 million, led by oil companies including Tesoro Corp, Valero Energy Corp and Koch Industries' Flint Hills Resources.

According to a poll released today, Californians are leaning against the ballot to suspend the state's climate change law. The Public Policy Institute of California poll found 48 percent of likely voters oppose Prop 23 and 37 percent support it. However, 15 percent of those asked did not know.

The repeal of California's climate change law would be a major defeat for America's green economy. Although the polls indicate the proposition will be defeated, the undecided voters in combination with widespread frustration make the outcome less than certain.

The fact that this proposition is being voted on at all is an illustration of how the anti-incumbent mood imperils important environmental policy initiatives.

If big-oil-funded Prop 23 succeeds in repealing California's Global Warming Solutions Act, it will put aside a major bipartisan achievement. California's bipartisanship in the passage of AB 32 is all the more remarkable in light of the gridlock caused by Republican obstructionism in Washington.

Prop 23 is a referendum on the green economy. If the proposition passes, it would destroy much of the state's green industry, if it is defeated, California will be a model that other states will follow.


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The 2010 Midterms and the Fight Against Climate Change

With less than two weeks to go before the 2010 midterm elections, polls are predicting Republican victories that could crush hopes for energy and environment legislation.

Americans appear oblivious to the important environmental implications of the congressional elections. Many Americans do not appear to be interested in the crises that have been surmounted by the Democrats, nor are they interested in understanding how Republican leadership helped to create these crises. Instead the Democrats are being blamed for unemployment and a slow economy.

In the gubernatorial races Democrats are likely to see heavy losses across the industrial heartland, although Democrats remain competitive in big states such as California and Florida.

In the Senate, Republicans are poised to make significant gains and in the House of Representatives, they may even achieve majority status.

Over the course of the last two years, the Republicans have made their knee jerk opposition well known. A Republican majority in the House or the Senate would dash any hope for the Democrat's legislative agenda. Even without a majority in either chamber, significant Republican gains will undermine the President's mandatory reductions on greenhouse gas emissions and it will impede the Democrats' drive for comprehensive climate control legislation.

Although Democrats may have difficulty holding the House, weak Republican candidates spawned by the Tea Party may make it easier for the Democrats to hold the Senate.


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