China Considering Cap on Carbon Emissions

China is considering an absolute cap on its CO2 emissions from 2016, a senior adviser to the government said on Tuesday, a day after Washington announced new targets for its power sector, signaling a potential breakthrough in tough U.N. climate talks.

Progress in global climate negotiations has often been held back by a deep split between rich and poor nations, led by the United States and China, respectively, over who should step up their game to reduce emissions.

But the statement by adviser He Jiankun, coupled with the U.S. announcement, sparked optimism among observers hoping to see the decades-old deadlock broken. The steps come ahead of a global meet on climate change starting on Wednesday in Germany.

Adviser He had suggested at a conference in Beijing that China would put the cap in place by 2016. But he later told Reuters that the idea was his personal view.

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