Obama, Xi lay out joint vision for global climate agreement

Washington

US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping outlined their common vision for a global climate change agreement on Friday, and announced new steps they will take to deliver on pledges made last year to slash their greenhouse gas emissions.

Those included confirmation by Mr Xi that China will launch a national carbon cap-and-trade system in 2017 to help contain the country's emissions, which will build on seven regional pilot markets already in operation in China. Such systems put limits on carbon emissions and open up markets for companies to buy and sell the right to produce emissions.