Obama's 'Historic' Agreement with China Neither Historic, Nor an Agreement

China is producing about one-third of the world’s greenhouse gases, twice the level of the United States. If we are truly serious about reducing greenhouse emissions and air pollution, we must get tough with China (as well as with Russia and India) who produce high levels of carbon pollutants. The recent vague and supposed historic agreement entered into between President Obama and China’s President Xi Jinping does not require China to do anything specific, only to promise to do something about pollution reduction in 16 years. The agreement is not historic. It is, in fact, a continuation of the United States’ lame policy of trying to play nice with China.The Agreement is Not Binding on the Parties. The “agreement” entered into between President Obama and China is not binding on the parties. Agreements, by their very definition, must be binding or they are not worth the paper on which they are written. It is not a treaty because it will not be presented to the US Senate for approval. Treaties must be approved by a two-thirds vote of the Senate. That means that there is no binding international law that can require the US, or China, to reduce these toxic emissions. The agreement has lofty goals for a document that no one can enforce. China has agreed to reduce emissions if the US does so first. The “agreement” states that the US will reduce carbon pollution 26-28 percent less in 2025 than it did in 2005. Even the US does not have to do anything for 11 years. China’s unenforceable pledge is to stop pollution from increasing by 2030. So the agreement allows China to continue to increase carbon emissions for 16 years and then start to reduce them.Read More.Source: Populist/Joel D. Joseph