Despite their differences, the US and China have signed eight partnership pacts to curb greenhouse gas emissions. The pacts reportedly cover clean coal technology, carbon capture and storage, the development of low-carbon cities and a low-carbon model for the cement industry. Partners include research institutions and companies such as Air Products and Chemicals, Summit Power Group and Shanxi Coal International Energy Group. One example of the projects being undertaken is the partnership between Huaneng Clean Energy Research Institute and Summit Power Group, wherein Huaneng will share information on a 400 MW pilot integrated gasification combined cycle plant with Summit Power, which is about to break ground on a similar project in Texas. In return, Summit Power will share information and technology for recovering oil from captured carbon.
The partnerships should accelerate the development of such technologies in both countries, which have both been reluctant to sign up to international climate accords. Hong Kong newspaper, The Standard, reports that China’s Chief Climate Official Xie Zhenhua said that ‘China should not be subject to the same rules for greenhouse gas emissions as the United States and other rich countries’, adding that the US special envoy Todd Stern said ‘Washington favors (sic) every country deciding what it is capable of doing, instead of being classified either as a developed country or a developing country’.
The pacts were signed ahead of a two-day visit to China by US government officials including the Secretary of State, Treasury Secretary and Energy Secretary.
Edited from various sources by Katherine Guenioui