(Photo : Golden Gates in San Francisco California)

China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Government of California signed on Friday an agreement that further expands bilateral cooperation of China and the US on climate change.

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The climate change agreement, signed by Vice Chairman Xie Zhenhua of China's NDRC and California Governor Edmund Brown Jr., is the first of its kind between the NDRC and a subnational government.

According to the state-owned People's Daily website, the memorandum of understanding signed by Brown and Xie aims to further expand cooperation on climate, clean energy, and low carbon development. 

Mitigating the Effects of Climate Change

Both China and California will participate in activities that will help mitigate the effects of climate change. These activities include mitigating carbon emissions, controlling greenhouse gases, implementing carbon emissions trading systems, and sharing information on programs and latest policies to promote low carbon development.

After the signing of the memorandum of understanding, Xie said developing and developed countries need to work hand in hand to address the climate change issue.

He stressed that China and the United States will be taking active actions, with California taking the lead, in order to address the problem of climate change.

For his part, Governor Brown said the partnership between China and the state of California will hopefully change policies in the US and the world with regards to mitigating the effects of climate change. Brown described climate change as the greatest problem that mankind has ever faced.

China, US Made Significant Contributions in 2012

The International Energy Agency said China and the US have made significant contributions in the fight against climate change in 2012.

According to the agency, global energy-related carbon emissions went up by 1.4 per cent in 2012, reaching a historic high of 31.6 gigatons.

But the figure would have gone further if not for the actions of the US and China, the world's biggest and second biggest economies, the agency said.