China: Strong U.S. climate bill could lead to global treaty

The climate bill approved by the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday is much more than just the U.S.’s first mandatory cap and trade on greenhouse gas emissions.

The legislation, whether it gets through the U.S. Senate or not, will set the stage for the United Nations global climate conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December.

Xie Zhenhua, China’s top climate change official, said a stronger bill would have sent this clear message to the world: the U.S. is serious about curbing the problem of climate change.

“We think we should give a positive evaluation to the bill,” Xie said. “But in the area of tackling climate change, especially on the issue of cutting emissions, if the U.S. could take some more positive and stronger measures, it would give a bigger impetus to the Copenhagen conference at the end of the year.”

The bill would demand 15 percent of the nation’s electricity come from renewable sources by 2020, but that’s not quite on pace with other developed nations. For example, the European Union plan calls for 20 percent renewables by 2020.

China and the U.S. are the big dogs of greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, China recently passed the U.S. as the biggest greenhouse gas emitter, according to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

But with 1.3 billion citizens, China’s per capita emissions are still way below the U.S.’s mark, Xie said.

Xie’s comments are part of a back and forth with the U.S. on the issue. Earlier in June, the U.S. consented China doesn’t have to commit to specific greenhouse gas emission cuts.

Copenhagen could mark an important shift in the world’s climate change efforts. The Kyoto Protocol, in effect until 2012, fell short of expectations because President George W. Bush never signed it and the treaty made no demands on developing countries.

The U.S. House bill is a positive step toward a global agreement, but the true test will come in Copenhagen: Can China, the U.S. and the world agree on tough enough regulations to save the planet? We shall see.