Google – AFP, 8 June 2013
 |
US
President Barack Obama (R) and Chinese President Xi Jinping walk at
the
Annenberg Retreat in California, June 8, 2013 (AFP, Jewel Samad)
|
RANCHO
MIRAGE, California — The United States and China agreed to mount a joint effort
to combat climate change Saturday, committing to work to cut hydrofluorocarbons
(HFC), or "super greenhouse" gases.
In a
statement issued after a summit between Presidents Barack Obama and Xi Jinping
here, the two sides committed to phase down production and usage of the gases,
which are highly potent contributors to climate change.
"Today,
President Obama and President Xi agreed on an important new step to confront
global climate change," the White House said in a statement.
The deal
will see Washington and Beijing work together for the first time, along with
other countries to phase down the consumption and production of HFCs," the
statement said.
"A
global phase down of HFCs could potentially reduce some 90 gigatons of CO2
equivalent by 2050, equal to roughly two years worth of current global
greenhouse gas emissions," the statement said.
The effort
will use the institutions of the Montreal Protocol, which is sometimes referred
to as the most successful global climate treaty, which was first set up to
tackle depletions in the ozone layer.
HFCs are
potent greenhouse gases which are used in refrigerators, air conditioners, and
industrial appliances.
They are
seen as a threat because their use could undercut other efforts to stem
greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide.
China has
been unwilling to sign on to other international efforts to combat climate
change, arguing that doing so could hamper its development, and that rich nations
have a much more harmful global warming legacy.
The United
States, Canada and Mexico are proposing an amendment to the Montreal Protocol
which would phase down the production and consumption of HFCs in a verified
manner.
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