The United States and China must make accommodations to curb greenhouse gas emissions if both countries are to break their “suicide pact” of self-destructive, energy-using behavior. Together they produce 40 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, yet both countries demand that the other take responsibility for climate change, meanwhile the threat of environmental disaster grows. For the first time, China is considering an emissions target while half of U.S. states have set their own targets—the time for a deal is now.
In Breaking the Suicide Pact: U.S.-China Cooperation on Climate Change, William Chandler, director of the Carnegie Energy and Climate Program, identifies practical, non treaty-based approaches both countries could take to cut their carbon dioxide emissions across economic sectors—with little financial impact. He argues that China and the United States should work together to set individual, national goals and achieve them through domestically enforceable measures and international agreements that prevent either nation from taking advantage of steps taken by the other.
Key Recommendations for U.S.-China Cooperation:
“U.S.–China collaboration poses no threat to the climate leadership of any region or nation or to global cooperation. It is a complement, not a challenge, to existing and planned emissions cap and trade systems. This act of mutual self-preservation would help the United States and China to avert climate disaster and the eventual sanctions of other nations if they do not act, and lay the groundwork for successful global action,” concludes Chandler.
About the Author William Chandler is the director of the Carnegie Energy and Climate Program and has spent over 35 years working in energy and environmental policy.
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Carnegie's William Chandler and Zhou Dadi discussed how to break the US-China "suicide pact"� of self-destructive, energy-using behavior during a May 8, 2008 discussion at the Carnegie Endowment.
Event Transcript Event Video Event Audio Related Publications Financing Energy Efficiency in China Browse publications by... Publication Date Type of Publication Author Title Issue Project © 2009 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Washington DC Moscow Beijing Beirut Brussels All Rights Reserved. Home About For Press Sitemap Newsletters RSS Comments/Feedback 1779 Massachusetts Ave. NW Washington, DC 20036-2103 Phone: 202 483 7600 Fax: 202 483 1840 Email: info@carnegieendowment.org var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www."); document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E")); try { var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-31877-1"); pageTracker._trackPageview(); } catch(err) {} highlight();Read Full Article »