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11/22/2024 12:49:15 am

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Los Angeles to Host U.S.-China Climate Summit

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti speaks during a conference on the challenges and opportunities for sustainable development at Peking University Stanford Center, in Beijing November 20, 2014.

(Photo : REUTERS/JASON LEE) Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti speaks during a conference on the challenges and opportunities for sustainable development at Peking University Stanford Center, in Beijing November 20, 2014.


With the U.S. and China reaching a landmark climate change agreement earlier this month, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has invited leaders of major U.S. and Chinese cities to a greenhouse gas-fighting summit.


Garcetti issued the call last week as he visited China during a 12-day Asia trade trip that also included stops in South Korea and Japan. Garcetti said the greenhouse gas emissions summit would convene next year a Los Angeles.

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Garcetti is a member of the climate change task force appointed by President Obama. He said he spoke with White House officials about the proposed city summit that would include mayor from major U.S. and Chinese cities including Shanghai and Shenzhen among others.

Speaking to a Beijing clean tech business meeting, Garcetti said the bilateral climate change agreement's conclusion during his trip represented "perfect timing" for his proposal. Chinese counterparts had been enthusiastic about the proposal, he said.

The summit comes on the heels of the U.S.-China agreement to cut overall emissions of greenhouse gases by more then 25 percent by 2025. China has gone farther even than that with President Xi Jinping saying the nation would increase use of nuclear, solar and wind energy to cut carbon emissions faster.

While tentative agreements have ben reached by some city leaders to attend the summit, details continued to evolve, according to Garcetti, adding that it was appropriate for city leaders to discuss the issue since much of the job of controlling emissions will be left up to the cities.

Garcetti made his proposal shortly after visiting Shenzhen where he oversaw the opening of new China headquarters for an L.A.-based company, SaveSorb, that makes natural absorbent to contain fuel, pain and oil spills. He also spoke about sustainable cities at Peking University's Stanford Center.

Aside from environmental and urban issues, Garcetti also was in China to court tourism. Almost 600,000 Chinese visitors to L.A. last year made that city the number one U.S. travel destination for Chinese tourists.

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