This afternoon, China’s top climate diplomat, Xie Zhenhua, asked the US to commit to cutting at least 40% of its carbon output by 2020. The tough talk came in an interview with Zhenhua at Copenhagen. So far, much of the focus in Copenhagen has been on China and the United States, the two key players in the negotiations. Many speculate that if the two powers cannot come to an agreement, the Copenhagen Conference will fail to produce any substantive accord.
There is also disagreement between the two on how much money should be given to developing nations. China believes that developed nations should give upwards of 1.5% of their GDP to developing nations to help close the economic gap, a number much higher than the $10 billion per year pledged by first world nations.
Time will tell whether or not China and the US can come to an agreement, there are still nine days left in Copenhagen including a much anticipated visit by President Barack Obama.
