Staff Writer
President
Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping met at a summit meeting in
Beijing to discuss a new climate plan this past Wednesday. The United States has vowed to decrease their
emissions in 2025 to between 26% and 28% below 2005 levels, which is double the
rate of reduction it had previously stated. China is saying that renewable
energy will account for 20% of its power by 2030. China is also vowing to use more
clean energy sources.
The
two nations are attempting to start a global movement towards responsible
energy use. This meeting is historic, as
the United States and China have a famously strained relationship. China is the number one carbon emitter on the planet,
emitting 26% of the world’s carbon dioxide in 2012. It could potentially mean a global shift in
climate control, since climate experts say that the differences between China
and the United States were slowing down emission cuts in other countries.
While
the deal was a success and showed the two countries working together, there
were still reminders of the past tensions in their relationship. During a press conference between Xi and
Obama, Xi avoided more touchy questions from reporters. He responded to a question about China’s
unwillingness to issue visas to foreign reporters by saying that the visa
controversy was the fault of the news organizations. Things got especially tense when Xi suggested
that the United States may have been responsible for the social unrest in China
caused by Occupy Central, a civil disobedience campaign for more democracy in
the nation. Obama said that the United
States was not at all involved in the protests while also carefully stating his
support for free speech.
The
meeting may mean a renewed interest in clean energy worldwide, but there is
still strife in Washington related to reform.
Republicans are skeptical about the deal, with Republican and probable
Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell saying that he doesn’t support it. He says that the carbon regulations are “are
creating havoc in [his] state and other states around the country." Republican Senator James Inhofe has expressed
criticism for the deal and China’s climate policies in general, saying that, “Even
if they did agree to reducing emissions, we wouldn’t believe them”. The Republicans are vowing to prevent
greenhouse gas regulations and power plan emission reductions, saying that they
will hurt the U.S. economy.
The
Democrats are focusing on climate change for the 2016 elections, especially
since the majority of Americans believe that climate change is real. With Republicans in majority control of
congress, the Obama administration is using the global warming issue as a way
to appeal to its constituency.
