Hope from China for a Climate Treaty as Obama Delays Progress

Tuesday evening, amidst a historic Beijing meeting between President Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao, dozens of activists with the global campaigning network Avaaz.org released over one hundred Chinese flying lanterns and a floating balloon banner into the air just south of the White House.

Chinese flying lanterns are a symbol of hope traditionally released to celebrate the new year. The Avaaz action highlights China’s proactive domestic climate commitments as a source of inspiration for the UN climate summit in Copenhagen this December.

“China is no longer a legitimate excuse for inaction on climate,” says Ricken Patel, Executive Director of Avaaz. “In fact, it’s China that is bringing hope to a world frustrated by the failure of the US government to address this crisis. Contrary to what some Senators argue, China is doing more in many areas than the US to fight climate change.”

China, despite having per capita emissions that are less than one quarter of America’s (really cool chart here), has committed to reduce its carbon intensity 20% below 2005 levels by 2010 and to produce 20% of the country’s energy from renewables. This has resulted in the creation of thousands of green jobs.

By contrast, the US has yet to commit to emissions reductions as climate legislation languishes in the Senate. The US and China must both cut emissions aggressively in order to avoid the worst effects of climate change. “The world is counting on Obama and Hu Jintao to set the pace for a real deal to emerge from Copenhagen,” said Patel.

The event follows days of confusing and sometimes contradictory statements from world leaders, including Obama, over desired outcomes from critical UN climate negotiations next month.

“Leaders may not sign a treaty in December, but the crisis demands a binding Copenhagen commitment to three core elements of that treaty: ambitious carbon cuts, fair funding, and legal enforceability,” said Patel. “China and the US are the two biggest polluters in the world, and it is no exaggeration to say that the future of our planet rests on their actions at Copenhagen.”

About Morgan

Morgan is a wandering climate activist, a job well suited to the editorial board of this site. He organized at Williams College until his aprubt and unfortunate graduation in 2008. There, he was a Chinese major, student body co-president and one of the leaders of Thursday Night Group, the campus climate action group. Since graduating, in no particular order, Morgan has worked on a community energy efficiency campaign in western Mass, co-directed NH SPROG for the SSC and worked on Power Vote in Cleveland. He spent traveled in China, networking with youth climate activists and learning about the solar hot water business. He worked on Long Island for a solar and wind company doing home evaluations and sales. And he spent the better part of a year in DC at the Avaaz Action Factory causing trouble for a good cause.