I. Working with Other Countries to Take Action to Address Climate Change Enhancing Multilateral Engagement with Major Economies: In 2009, President Obama launched the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate, a high-level forum that brings together 17 countries that account for approximately 75 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, in order to support the international climate negotiations and spur cooperative action to combat climate change. The Forum has been successful on both fronts – having contributed significantly to progress in the broader negotiations while also launching the Clean Energy Ministerial to catalyze the development and deployment of clean energy and efficiency solutions. We are proposing that the Forum build on these efforts by launching a major initiative this year focused on further accelerating efficiency gains in the buildings sector, which accounts for approximately one-third of global carbon pollutions from the energy sector.
Expanding Bilateral Cooperation with Major Emerging Economies: From the outset, the Obama Administration has sought to intensify bilateral climate cooperation with key major emerging economies, through initiatives like the U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center, the U.S.-India Partnership to Advance Clean Energy, and the Strategic Energy Dialogue with Brazil. We will be building on these successes and finding new areas for cooperation in the second term, and we are already making progress: Just this month, President Obama and President Xi Jinping of China reached an historic agreement at their first summit to work to use the expertise and institutions of the Montreal Protocol to phase down the consumption and production of HFCs, a highly potent greenhouse gas. The impact of phasing out HFCs by 2050 would be equivalent to the elimination of two years’ worth of greenhouse gas emissions from all sources.
Combatting Short-Lived Climate Pollutants: Pollutants such as methane, black carbon, and many HFCs are relatively short-lived in the atmosphere, but have more potent greenhouse effects than carbon dioxide. In February 2012, the United States launched the Climate and Clean Air Coalition to Reduce Short-Lived Climate Pollution, which has grown to include more than 30 country partners and other key partners such as the World Bank and the U.N. Environment Programme. Major efforts include reducing methane and black carbon from waste and landfills. We are also leading through the Global Methane Initiative, which works with 42 partner countries and an extensive network of over 1,100 private sector participants to reduce methane emissions.
Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation: Greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation, agriculture, and other land use constitute approximately one-third of global emissions. In some developing countries, as much as 80 percent of these emissions come from the land sector. To meet this challenge, the Obama Administration is working with partner countries to put in place the systems and institutions necessary to significantly reduce global land-use-related emissions, creating new models for rural development that generate climate benefits, while conserving biodiversity, protecting watersheds, and improving livelihoods. In 2012 alone, the U.S. Agency for International Development’s bilateral and regional forestry programs contributed to reducing more than 140 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions, including through support for multilateral initiatives such as the Forest Investment Program and the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility. In Indonesia, the Millennium Challenge Corporation is funding a five-year “Green Prosperity” program that supports environmentally sustainable, low carbon economic development in select districts. The Obama Administration is also working to address agriculture-driven deforestation through initiatives such as the Tropical Forest Alliance 2020, which brings together governments, the private sector, and civil society to reduce tropical deforestation related to key agricultural commodities, which we will build upon.
