Hailed as a ” game changer “ by Grist or Climate Progress, the climate change deal signed by the United States of America and the People’s Republic of China is a new step in the fight against global warming.
As Grist notes :
According to a statement from the White House press office, the U.S. will reduce emissions 26 to 28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025, with “best efforts” to hit the higher end of that range. China will have its CO2 emissions peak around 2030, “make best efforts to peak early,” and increase the share of non-fossil fuels in its energy portfolio to “around” 20 percent by 2030.
Both administrations have their work cut out for them. As The Washington Postobserves, “to meet its target, the United States will need 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.”
And for China: “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.”
Climate Progress reports :
The historic new U.S.-China climate deal changes the trajectory of global carbon pollution emissions, greatly boosting the chances for a global deal in Paris in 2015. The deal would keep, cumulatively, some 640 billion tons of CO2 emissions out of the air this century, according to brand new analysis by Climate Interactive and MIT, using their C-ROADS model.
(…) The Chinese commitment to more than double carbon-free electricity generation is also a gamechanger. It guarantees that the recent explosive growth — and amazing price drops — experienced by renewables like solar and wind will continue for decades to come. And that means the long-predicted ascendance of carbon-free energy has now begun in earnest.
As Climate Progress rightfully notes, with the recent European pledge to cut its emissions by 40 percent minimum by 2030, countries representing more than half of global carbon dioxide emissions have made serious commitments to stop climate change. Additionally, more and more companies and cities are also joining.
The fight is O N ! Don’t worry, I’ll keep you posted.