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Pelosi upbeat on US-China climate cooperation

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-06-03 15:18

WASHINGTON - US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday expressed high hopes of cooperation between the United State and China ahead of key climate change talks.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, pictured in her office on Capitol Hill, expressed high hopes of cooperation between the United State and China ahead of key climate change talks. [Agencies]

"We did see that the Chinese government knows that they have to do something," Pelosi told a news conference on the heels of a weeklong trip to China with other lawmakers devoted to energy and climate change.

"It may not be exactly what the United States does in terms of climate change, but it is clear that we have to have some kind of bipartisan agreement on how we negotiate with the other countries who will be participating in Copenhagen."

The 192-nation UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Copenhagen in December is set to hammer out a new climate treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol when it expires in 2012.

Pelosi's visit also came after the House Energy and Commerce Committee approved a draft climate change bill last month. The measure must now be taken up by congressional panels before facing a full House vote and being sent to the Senate.

President Barack Obama's Democratic allies, who control both houses of Congress, say they want to have a bill ready before the UN conference.

"I'm optimistic that we will be able to move forward, in a timely fashion, so that our legislation will pass the House and send a clear message about Copenhagen," Pelosi said. "But I'm not putting any deadline on it."

Congressman Ed Markey, who co-sponsored the draft bill and chairs the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming said he was "encouraged because of movement that was being made in a significant way in China on energy intensity, energy efficiency, fuel economy standards."

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However, reaching an agreement in Copenhagen, Markey warned, "will require very concerted efforts by the United States Congress and by the Obama administration."

The climate change bill aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020, falling short of a pledge by European Union members to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by an average of 20 percent from their 1990 levels by 2020 and boost renewable energy sources by 20 percent.

It also seeks to create "green" jobs and includes provisions for a "cap-and-trade" system limiting overall carbon dioxide emissions from large industrial sources and then allocating and selling pollution permits.