Sino-US climate deal praised in Norway conference

Bellona, a Norwegian environmental think-tank, said on Wednesday that it welcomes what it calls "the ambitious commitments" announced in Beijing by Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Barack Obama.

Frederic Hauge, president of the Bellona Foundation, said that he is no doubt that the agreement is historic, probably the most important thing in the international fight against climate change.

"Probably, this is greater than the Kyoto Protocol," Hauge told the Norwegian news agency NTB.

China and the United States jointly account for about 45 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions and their commitments therefore send a strong signal toward the climate negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP-21) in Paris next year and could catalyze the conclusion of a global climate agreement to succeed the Kyoto Protocol, Bellona Foundation said in a press statement.

"This early leadership on the part of the United States and China will play a crucial role in boosting ambition by other countries, expected to announce their national emission reduction contributions in the first quarter of 2015," it added.

China has pledged to peak its CO2 emissions by 2030 while the United States has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 26-28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025.

"This is a significant step forward for the United States, marking the first time the president has set a goal beyond the existing 17 percent target by 2030," Bellona Foundation said in a statement.

Guri Bang, a researcher with the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research in Oslo (CICERO), said that the fact that the two powers clearly show that they will be partners "is very exciting."

Meanwhile, Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg said that the agreement is good news for the climate and for the world.