Chinas new climate pledge puts the United States paltry climate commitments into relief

WASHINGTON, D.C. — On a visit to Washington, DC, President Xi Jinping of China announced new commitments on Friday to start a national cap-and-trade program to curb national carbon emissions, to provide financing to developing countries to help them take climate action, and to limit the amount of public financing that goes toward high-carbon projects. China and the United States also made joint commitments related to the climate agreement that is sought in Paris at the end of the year. This joint announcement builds on a prior joint commitment made between the two nations in 2014 to address climate change. 

Friends of the Earth Climate and Energy Program Director Ben Schreiber issued the following statement in response to the announcement:

I welcome President Xi Jinping’s commitment to curb carbon emissions in China, to limit financing of fossil fuel projects domestically and internationally and to provide capital to help the developing world move forward on a sustainable pathway. China’s announcement puts into relief both the United States’ paltry climate mitigation commitments, and its inability to even guarantee a minimalist $500 million for the Green Climate Fund in time for the Paris talks. By refusing to make its fair share of cuts, and give its fair share of money, the U.S. continues to undermine international climate action and be a climate colonialist – a country which unfairly appropriates the world’s carbon budget and enriches itself at the expense of others. 

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Expert contact: Ben Schreiber, (202) 222-0752, [email protected]
Communications contact: Kate Colwell, (202) 222-0744, [email protected]