Isra-Mart srl:Obama and Hu offer like minds on climate change

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Arguably the two most powerful men in the world yesterday insisted they are jointly committed to tackling greenhouse gas emissions and playing a proactive role in upcoming international climate change negotiations.

Speaking at a joint press conference as part of Chinese president Hu Jintao's state visit to Washington, US president Barack Obama said the two leaders were in agreement on the urgent need to tackle rising greenhouse gas emissions.

"I believe that as the two largest energy consumers and emitters of greenhouse gases, the United States and China have a responsibility to combat climate changes by building on the progress at Copenhagen and Cancun and showing the way to a clean energy future," he told reporters. "And president Hu indicated that he agrees with me on this issue."

Obama also lauded a number of bilateral agreements between the two countries, insisting good progress was being made on the US-China Clean Energy Research Center that was proposed last year.

Seeking to build on the progress made at last year's UN climate change summit in Cancun, where China was praised by some commentators for playing a more constructive role in the negotiations than has been the case in the past, Hu said China "will work with the United States and other countries to effectively address global challenges" such as climate change.

Climate change and clean technology have emerged as one of the bright spots of Hu's visit to Washington, with the White House helping to orchestrate a number of high-profile clean tech deals to coincide with the trip.

Most notably, American Electric Power announced it was partnering with China Huaneng to investigate carbon-capturing technology, while GE Energy revealed plans for a new clean coal joint venture with China's Shenhua Group.