“When we were industrialising and growing,” she said, “we didn’t know any better; neither did Europe. Now we’re smart enough to figure out how to have the right kind of growth.” The Taiyanggong Thermal Power Plant is nearly twice as efficient as the coal-fired facilities that supply much of China’s electricity — and that contributed to China surpassing the United States as the world leader in carbon-dioxide emissions.
President Barack Obama’s administration hopes to make climate change the centrepiece of a broad relationship with China. “The opportunities for us to work together are unmatched anywhere in the world,” said Clinton, who met with president Hu Jintao and other Chinese officials at the end of a weeklong Asian trip.
Clinton said she did not want US-China disputes over Tibet and other issues to interfere with cooperation on climate change, security and the global economy. Human rights groups were critical of that stand, which contrasted sharply with a rights speech she gave at a 1995 United Nations conference in Beijing.
See full story