Global Warming: India in a Fix as China Pledges Big Emission Cuts
From the Times of India:
China has announced that it will cut emissions by a drastic 40-45 per cent compared to 2005 levels by the year 2020. The pledge, which is far ahead of the promises made by the United States, is also expected to cause jitters in New Delhi and raise questions about the efficacy of the India-China deal on the issue.
There is also a sense that Beijing has pre-empted other developing countries as it made the announcement a day before it was set to hold dialogue on Friday with India, South Africa and Brazil on preparations for the Copenhagen conference on climate change in December… China’s emission levels are a lot more than India, which may be expected to set lower targets. But New Delhi has been reluctant to announce any targets at all. Beijing’s announcement will put pressure on India, South Africa and Brazil to announce targets if they wish to stick with China in a joint front at the Copenhagen meeting, sources explained.
It is [Xie Zhenhua, deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission] who made the announcement that China would aim to cut carbon intensity – the amount of carbon dioxide emissions per unit of gross domestic product – by a range of 40% to 45% by 2020. It came a day after Obama said the US intends to cut its greenhouse-gas emissions by 17% below 2005 levels by 2020, and by 83% by 2050.
