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| US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands before their meeting at the West Lake State Guest House in Hangzhou. Photo: AP |
The joint declaration, made by US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping in what is likely their final meeting before a new president enters the White House early next year, is a major stride toward the global accord being put in force by the end of the year.
"This is not a fight that any one country no matter how powerful can take alone," Mr Obama said alongside Mr Xi just hours after touching down in China on Saturday afternoon.
"Some day we may see this as the moment that we finally decided to save our planet."
Mr Xi called on other countries at the G20 summit to follow China's lead and ratify the Paris agreement.
"Our response to climate change bears on the future of our people and the wellbeing of mankind," he said.
The long-term cooperation on climate change between the two economic superpowers has represented a bright spot in what has otherwise been a tense relationship between the two men, overshadowed by disagreements over the South China Sea, accusations of cyber-espionage and trade disputes.
The two leaders had made previous joint statements on climate change at international summits in an effort to spur global action.
"Despite our differences on other issues we hope that our willingness to work together on this issue will inspire greater ambition and greater action around the world," Mr Obama said.
The Paris accord, agreed to in December, is the world's first comprehensive climate agreement which commits countries to cut emissions enough to keep the global average rise in temperatures below 2 degrees Celsius compared with pre-industrial levels.
It will come into force only after it is ratified by at least 55 countries, which produce between them at least 55 per cent of global carbon emissions.
Until Saturday, only 23 had done so among the 175 signatories, including France and a number of island states threatened by rising sea levels but only contribute tiny amounts to global carbon emissions. China and US alone are responsible to almost 40 per cent of total emissions worldwide.
Ratifying the agreement also accords with Beijing's domestic political agenda of having to be seen to clean up the environment after years of breakneck industrial development leading to severe air, water and soil pollution.
The Australian government said Wednesday it would seek to ratify the Paris Agreement on climate change by the end of the year. It has set a 2030 emissions reduction target of 26 to 28 per cent below 2005 levels.
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