U.S. Needs Climate Action Partnership With China

The world’s two top polluters must act swiftly and work together with global warming solutions to save the planet from devastating climate change.

A report produced in part by the new Energy Secretary Steven Chu warned that China and the United States must bring their leaders together for a climate summit.

"If these two countries cannot find ways to bridge the long-standing divide on this issue, there will literally be no solution," the "Roadmap for U.S.-China Cooperation on Energy and Climate Change" said.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has highlighted China as an important stop on her first trip abroad as Secretary, and climate and energy will be high on the State Department’s agenda.

“Secretary Clinton is keenly aware that the United States—as the largest historic emitter of greenhouse gases—and China—as the largest emitter going forward—need to develop a strong, constructive partnership to build the kind of clean energy economies that will allow us to put the brakes on global climate change,” Todd Stern, the newly created special envoy on climate change, told the New York Times in an email.

“We need to put finger-pointing aside and focus on how our two leading nations can work together productively to solve the problem.”