US Demands Emissions Reductions from China and India

The United States, the world's second-largest polluter after China, made it clear that as a condition for a binding agreement on emissions reductions, major developing country emitters like China and India must be part of any legally binding agreement.

At a COP 17 press briefing, Todd Stern, the US chief envoy in Durban, said at that any future global deal on climate change would have to be equally binding on all countries, including China, with “no trap doors, no Swiss cheese.”

“In order for there to be a legally binding agreement that makes sense, all the major players are going to have to be in,” Stern said.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.