China, India Reject G8 Carbon Plan

Warns change will be irreversible if something isn't done now

(NEWSER) - Former British prime minister Tony Blair will seek to privately broker a new international agreement to cut carbon emissions by 50% before 2050 that would include China, India and the US, reports the Guardian. Blair has been working on the project with climate change experts since he left office last summer. He's convinced global warming is the biggest threat the world faces and that action must be taken in the next two years or it will be too late to reverse the problem. More»

China, India helped draft leaked agreement they railed against

(NEWSER) - The “Danish text”—the leaked climate change agreement that infuriated developing nations in Copenhagen and sparked accusations of bullying by rich countries—was actually drafted by a group that included China, India, and Brazil, among other countries. They had “input into the process and product” of the agreement, which seeks to impose stricter limits on developing nations’ emissions, an insider tells the Los Angeles Times . More»

Copenhagen deal closer, but 2050 goal less likely

(NEWSER) - Industrialized nations backed away from long-term carbon cut demands on developing nations yesterday, in the hopes of reaching a deal at December's Copenhagen summit. The US and EU have pushed for a 50% reduction in global carbon emissions by 2050, but China and India refused to sign up, wary of binding themselves to future cuts. As the Financial Times reports, dropping the 2050 demand and focusing on more short-term goals will make it easier to strike a deal even if it disappoints environmentalists and Western governments. More»

Country could be world's leader in clean energy by 2020

(NEWSER) - China is on course to obtain 20% of its energy from wind and solar sources by 2020—a transformation that would make the country the world leader in renewables. Beijing is ramping up its targets for clean energy, helped by the $590 billion stimulus package passed last year, a senior government official told the Guardian. "Due to the impact of global financial crisis, people are all talking about green and sustainable development," he said. More»

(NEWSER) - Hillary Clinton emphasized the environment today in China as she wrapped up a weeklong visit to Asia, the New York Times reports. “When we were industrializing and growing, we didn’t know any better,” Clinton said, praising recent advances in green energy and asking for more. “We hope you won’t make the same mistakes we made.” Some analysts think energy policy is the prime issue to unite the interests of the two countries. More»