China Pledges to Cut Greenhouse Gases

China said today that it plans to ramp up efforts to cut emissions of greenhouse gases and that Premier Wen Jiabao will attend next month's climate conference in Copenhagen. The announcement comes a day after President Obama said he, too, would attend to lay out US reductions. The developments raise hopes that the conference will yield meaningful progress after all.

China's State Council said the nation would cut its carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by 40% to 45% in 10 years. The goal does not mean that it will cut its total carbon emissions. In fact, given the expected huge increases in China's economy over the next decade, its global warming emissions could increase—but at a much slower pace than if China had made no changes. (More China stories.)