U.S., China formally join Paris climate accord

It probably sunk into China's government that environmental issues are a real concern when their cities had too much air and water pollution. I'm a bit cheesed at my own government for allowing our politicians to be bought out by offending corporations for lenient standards on environmental controls.

China and US would not implement such accord if domestic economy gets worse. That's why both have not joined any agreement.

How refreshing, a president that actually believes in science! Kudos to President Obama for his visionary perspective and willingness to act on the scientific realities of climate change. This president will be sorely missed in five months.

During the negotiations over the Paris deal Beijing stressed the concept of “differentiated responsibilities”—the idea that developed countries should shoulder the lion’s share of the burden as they have polluted most since the Industrial Revolution.

Next Beijing will be telling us they're not developed.

The welcome was quite... warm...

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-09-03/tarmac-altercation-erupts-upon-obamas-arrival-china-after-official-shouts-out-countr

Moderator: Please discuss this on the appropriate thread.

Very likely as a result of Obama's poking China in the eye here, he had a rude welcome for G20

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-09-03/tarmac-altercation-erupts-upon-obamas-arrival-china-after-official-shouts-out-countr

With all the jet-setting these people do to and from these "summits" and the lavish parties and meals, doesn't it all seem rather... hypocritical?

Isn't it interesting to anyone else that the draft communique that was leaked before anyone even arrived seems as if everything was actually predetermined?

"As the WSJ also reported earlier, "President Obama and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping stood with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to announce the U.S. and China’s formal adoption of the international climate change agreement reached in Paris in December 2015. They also detailed a road map to achieving emissions reductions in commercial aircraft and for phasing out hydrofluorocarbons." Which is completely meaningless, as none of the provisions of the Paris Treaty are enforceable, and Beijing has zero intentions of actually following through with the toothless treaty.

In any case, thanks to Bloomberg, according to the leaked draft G-20 communique, global leaders "should make full use of a range of policy options, including fiscal as well as monetary measures, to revive economic growth that still falls short of desired levels."

In other words, even more global debt, even more liquidity injections by central banks, even higher asset prices, even more social discontent, nationalistic passions and populism.

Among the other G-20 (pre)decisions in the communique draft seen by Bloomberg:

Financial market volatility poses downside risks to growth: draft communique Fiscal strategies equally important as monetary ones: draft communique Excess volatility, disorderly moves in foreign exchange markets hurt stability: draft G-20 recognizes excess steel capacity as global issue: draft Subsidies can contribute to global excess capacity: draft UK vote to leave EU adds to global economic uncertainty: draft *Terrorism a serious challenge to international security: draft And so on, and so forth, as yet another meeting of the world's "best and brightest" leaders leads to absolutely no new ideas how to fix a problem that was caused by debt than just creating even more debt, meaning that the debt level is about to truly take off. We know how it all ends; the only thing we are curious about is if the Chinese will force an already humiliated Obama to fly commercial in his final return to the US... coach class."