USA nudges China to sign climate change accord, but really, it's the USA that needs to sign

SHOOT: The USA is the biggest consumer and polluter on the planet, so not sure what the drama is all about going to China and shaking hands. The agenda is obviously that if they 'lose', so must everyone else. Funny strategy, but good to see that at least now there is some willingness to sign. That being said, even if no one signs, the recession is killing consumption 'naturally'.

CNN: Like the United States and China, APEC and Group of 20 leaders -- the world's leading economies -- have pledged to drive toward a climate-change agreement in Copenhagen.

The conference, set to begin December 7, aims to strike a deal on a successor agreement to the Kyoto Protocol, the 1997 pact that has legally binding targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The United States never ratified it, though more than 200 other nations did.

clipped from www.cnn.com "As the two largest consumers and producers of energy, there can be no solution to this challenge without the efforts of both China and the United States," Obama said. "That is why we've agreed to a series of important new initiatives in this area." "Our aim ... is not a partial accord or a political declaration," Obama said, "but rather an accord that covers all of the issues in the negotiations and one that has immediate operational affect. "This kind of comprehensive agreement would be an important step forward in the effort to rally the world around a solution to our climate challenge." The first step would be to have all 191 countries involved in the Copenhagen summit signing on to a framework that includes key ingredients, such as how to finance the coordinated effort to battle climate change. The second step, a binding deal on cutting carbon emissions, would be hashed out in further negotiations.