China and the U.S. have been quite the bosom buddies lately, both on economic and environmental issues. But is it any wonder? As we discussed in our current feature article, “The Last Empire,” China’s booming economy is based on a high-consumption, capitalist, American model.
The two countries recently pledged to “conduct extensive cooperation over a 10-year period to focus on technological innovation, adoption of clean technology and sustainable natural resources.” The promise to adopt clean technology seems like nothing more than a false gesture, considering both China and the U.S. refused mandatory emissions cuts of 20 to 40 percent by 2020 at the U.N. climate change conference in Bali this week.
For more on this subject, continue reading this post on Mother Jones‘ environment and health blog, The Blue Marble.
