China to launch cap-and-trade emissions plan
WASHINGTON — President Xi Jinping of China will make a landmark commitment Friday to start a national program in 2017 that will limit and put a price on greenhouse gas emissions, Obama administration officials said Thursday.
The move to create a so-called cap-and-trade system would be a substantial step by the world’s largest polluter to reduce emissions from major industries, including steel, cement, paper and electric power.
The announcement, to come during a White House summit meeting with President Obama, is part of an ambitious effort by China and the United States to use their leverage internationally to tackle climate change and to pressure other nations to do the same.
Joining forces on the issue even as they are bitterly divided on others, Obama and Xi will spotlight the shared determination of the leaders of the world’s two largest economies to forge a climate change accord in Paris in December that commits every country to curbing their emissions.
Xi’s pledge underscores China’s intention to act quickly and upends what has long been a potent argument among Republicans against acting on climate change — that the United States’ most powerful economic competitor has not done so. But it is not clear whether China will be able to enact and enforce a program that substantially limits emissions.
China’s economy depends heavily on cheap coal-fired electricity, and the country has a history of balking at outside reviews of its industries. China has also been plagued by major corruption cases, particularly among coal companies.
But the agreement, which U.S. officials said had been in the works since April, is China’s first commitment to a specific plan to carry out what have so far been general ambitions.
Domestic and external pressures have driven the Chinese government to take firmer action to curb emissions from fossil fuels, especially coal. Growing public anger about the noxious air that often envelops Beijing and many other Chinese cities has prompted the government to introduce restrictions on coal and other sources of smog, with the side benefit of reducing carbon dioxide pollution. Authorities in China also see economic benefits in reducing fossil fuel use.
The cap-and-trade initiative builds on a deal Obama and Xi reached last year in Beijing, where both set steep emissionsreduction targets as a precursor to the global climate accord. Obama, who has made climate change a signature issue of his presidency, announced the centerpiece of his plan this year. With his announcement Friday, Xi will outline how he will halt the growth of China’s emissions by 2030.
“It increases our probability of succeeding, and it increases the likelihood that we will have a more robust agreement” in Paris, one senior administration official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because officials were not authorized to preview the agreement.