US, China expected to join climate deal during Obama visit

And for us to be able to visit this monument and remind ourselves of the sailors and airmen and everyone involved who were able to rebuff a Japanese force that vastly outnumbered them is a testament to their courage and their perseverance.

President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping submitted their nations’ plans to UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon here, the host city of this year’s Group of 20 meetings. The announcement means the accord could take force by the end of the year, a faster than anticipated timeline.

China views the South China Sea as an integral part of its national territory. Fifty-five nations must join for the agreement to take effect. Xi and Obama announced joint efforts to set new carbon emissions targets, hoping the cooperation between the competitive nations would spur other countries to follow suit.

But the welcome didn’t go entirely smoothly. Chinese officials are particularly wary of Hillary Clinton, regional experts say, because they see her being tougher on regional security issues and view her as the author of the USA “rebalance” to Asia, which they do not favor.

“And while some members of the US Congress still seem to be debating whether climate change is real or not, many of you are already planning for new places for your people to live”, he added.

“We have to have confidence in our ability to solve these problems”, Obama said. China vowed that its growing emissions will top out by 2030.

The state-run Xinhua News Agency reported Saturday that China’s legislature had voted to formally enter the agreement.

As for its commitments to the climate deal, the US pledged to cut its emissions 26 percent to 28 percent over the next 15 years, compared to 2005 levels.

Together, the USA and China produce 38 percent of the world’s man-made carbon dioxide emissions. Fewer than half of the requisite 55 countries will have joined, but many have signaled they plan to do so this year. In the US, no Senate ratification is required because the agreement is not considered a formal treaty. They discussed a wide range of foreign policy topics, as well as the President’s views on Donald Trump and his base of support. The world’s largest, the monument reflects Obama’s strategy of using his executive powers to put lands and waters off-limits to development, despite concerns from critics who argue his heavy-handed approach comes at the expense of vulnerable local economies. Still, the White House says it is confident the USA can meet its targets through investments in renewable energy and an ongoing shift from coal to cleaner-burning natural gas. Unlikely partners on addressing global warming, the USA and China have sought to use their collaboration to ramp up pressure on other countries to take concrete action as well.

In a gesture that speaks to his legacy of conservation, President Barack Obama traveled Thursday to a remote spit of sand and coral in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands, to see for himself the very monument that six days earlier he quadrupled to create the largest protected marine area on the planet.

Others say they expect the tougher side of the president’s China policy to take the spotlight when Obama meets with President Xi.

Obama is expected to meet British Prime Minister Theresa May for the first time since she replaced his stalwart partner David Cameron.

For Obama, this week’s trip to China and Laos is one of his last opportunities to shape American foreign policy before other leaders adapt their approach to the United States based on the next president.