Antinuclear

In a joint statement released on Tuesday by UK Prime Minister David Cameron and his visiting Chinese counterpart, Premier Li Keqiang, the leaders said climate change was already happening, “much of it as a result of human activity”.

“The odds of extreme weather events, which threaten lives and property, have increased,” the statement said, citing the recent reports by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. “Sea levels are rising, and ice is melting faster than we expected.”

n a nod to the severe pollution frequently enveloping many Chinese cities, the statement added: “In addition, the burning of fossil fuels creates serious air pollution, affecting quality of life for millions. Both sides recognise that climate change and air pollution share many of the same root causes, as well as many of the same solutions.”

The comments are likely to be seen as further proof China, the world’s largest emitter of the greenhouse gases blamed for warming the planet, will place a cap on emissions.

The country is particularly exposed to shifting climate patterns with much of its agriculture reliant on the regularity of seasonal snowmelt. In recent days, Chinese newspapers have carried reports that the area of frozen earth on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has shrunk 16 per cent in the past 30 years because of global warming.

China and Britain’s “urgent call to action” also follows the release earlier this month of the most ambitious climate action in US history by President Barack Obama. Some 1600 fossil-fuel burning power plants will have to cut emissions 30 per cent on 2005 levels by 2030.

The US move was announced days before Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s visit to Washington. Mr Abbott, who has previously derided climate science, said he would not support moves to curb emissions that would “clobber the economy”.,,,,,http://www.smh.com.au/environment/china-and-the-uk-declare-global-warming-is-one-of-the-greatest-challenges-facing-the-world-20140618-zsb6k.html#ixzz353kMhsDc