WASHINGTON, June 9 (Agencies): For the first time, the US and China, the world's top two greenhouse-gas emitters, have agreed to work together and with other countries to phase down the consumption and production of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) as an important new step to combat global climate change.
"Today, President (Barack) Obama and President Xi (Jinping) agreed on an important new step to confront global climate change. For the first time, the United States and China will work together and with other countries to use the expertise and institutions of the Montreal Protocol to phase down the consumption and production of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), among other forms of multilateral cooperation," the White House said in a press statement.
The statement came soon after Obama and Xi ended their maiden meeting at the desert resort at Sunnylands, just outside Palm Springs in California.
A global phase down of HFCs could potentially reduce some 90 gigatonnes of CO2 equivalent by 2050, equal to roughly two years worth of current global greenhouse gas emissions, the White House statement said after the two-day informal summit.
