India, China Form Climate Change Pact

NEW DELHI -- Even as they resist persistent pressure from Western nations to rein in their carbon emissions, India and China are warming up to each other on the contentious climate change issue. The rare display of solidarity is all the more noteworthy given the two Asian giants' generally tenuous relationship, as well as previous fractiousness regarding which one should do more to combat global warming.

However, at the climax of a four-day visit to China last week to discuss a wide range of bilateral environmental issues, India's Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh felt upbeat enough to proclaim that India and China are "standing 100 percent together" on issues of climate change, and that "India feels closer to China than the United States in this regard."