U.S. and China Make Landmark Climate Deal

An anonymous reader writes: After extended talks on the issue of climate change, the U.S. and China have reached a landmark accord to curb emissions in the near future. The two countries are the top carbon polluters, so their actions are likely to have a major effect on world pollution levels and also set the standard for other countries. The agreement includes China's first-ever commitment to stop the growth of its emissions by 2030. They plan on shifting a big chunk of their energy production to renewables in that time. The U.S. agreed to emit 26-28% less carbon in 2025 than it did in 2005. Their efforts could spur greater enthusiasm for a new global climate agreement in 2015. Reader jones_supa adds details of another interesting part of the U.S.-China talks: Technology products look likely to gain more access to international markets as a result of upgrade between the U.S. and China on a 1996 tariff-eliminating trade agreement that President Obama announced Tuesday in Beijing. The agreement is expected to lower prices on a raft of new technology products by eliminating border tariffs — a price impact that's expected to be larger outside the United States, since U.S. tariffs on high-tech goods are generally lower than those overseas. "This is a win-win-win agreement for information and communication technology industries in the U.S., Europe, Japan and China, for businesses and consumers who purchase IT products and for the global economy."

Comments

Re:Ya...Right

[Anonymous Coward]

And it's completely unheard of for the President to offer up another appointee for Surgeon General? Someone who didn't say "Guns are a health care issue"? There is not another single doctor at Harvard medical school that could be the Surgeon General? Not one?!

Oh wait ... there isn't another that spent so much time campaigning for the president, founding "Doctors for Obama" and putting in all the time and effort to "earn" that appointment from the President. I forgot, it's not so much about qualifications and actually having a Surgeon General (which is something totally in the power of the President to get done by picking someone else), it's about repaying political loyalty and favors with a cushy job.

Actually, I bet it will be more like ... USA: "Good thing we didn't cut our pollution so much, China completely re-interpreted their end of the bargain!"