News | Energy Efficiency

http://www.energyefficiencynews.com/i/2586/

Yesterday US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao pledged to try and make real progress on climate change at next month’s meeting in Copenhagen.
The move has been welcomed as a positive development by environmental groups following weeks of lowered expectations for the meeting.
“Both nations must now use their substantial political clout to make this happen,” says Friends of the Earth’s Executive Director Andy Atkins.
The meeting between the two leaders also fleshed out a package of measures to strengthen cooperation between the US and China on clean energy.
Obama and Hu confirmed the establishment of a $150 million joint US-China Clean Energy Research Center, which will bring together researchers on building energy efficiency, clean coal including carbon capture and storage, and eco vehicles.
The leaders also launched an electric car initiative, which will see the joint development of standards, technical roadmapping and demonstration projects in more than a dozen cities, and an action plan on efficiency.
The US-China Energy Efficiency Action Plan will see officials from both countries develop building efficiency codes, train inspectors and harmonise procedures and metrics for consumer products.
The far-reaching agreements will also see the two nations work together to deploy renewables and demonstration carbon capture and storage projects.