U.S. and Chinese officials discuss energy cooperation

US Secretary of Energy Zhu Diwen said that the global climate is warming faster than initially expected. Zhu Diwen, who is visiting China, urges the United States and China to cooperate to prevent global warming.

US Secretary of Energy Zhu Diwen told the crowded audience at Tsinghua University in Beijing that the issue of climate change is becoming increasingly serious and urgent. He said that only by strengthening international cooperation can we effectively solve the problem of climate warming.

Zhu Diwen said: "It is for this reason that people cannot say,'It is the developed countries that emit all the carbon. You have caused the trouble and you should solve it yourself.' We all live in the same world. I admit, yes. Developed countries have created this trouble. But developing countries will make this trouble worse. We all face this problem, so we must solve it together."

China and the United States are the two largest emitters of carbon dioxide in the world. The burning of coal and oil has caused carbon dioxide emissions. Many scientists believe that carbon dioxide is one of the main reasons for the acceleration of climate change.

Zhu Diwen said: "The carbon dioxide emitted by China and the United States now accounts for 42% of the world's total emissions. Therefore, what the United States and China do in the next ten years will truly determine the fate of the world."

The governments of the United States and China announced on Wednesday the establishment of a joint research center to develop clean energy.

Due to the overtime of Zhu Diwen's speech, the students finally had no time to ask questions.

A 19-year-old first-year physics student surnamed Kang said that he wanted to ask Diwen Zhu if the United States planned to share with other countries the latest US technology in combating climate change.

He said: "Can he impart some of his (U.S.) existing technologies to other countries selflessly, because after all, there is still a certain gap between the level of science and technology in other countries and the United States."

A 25-year-old graduate student named Han from the Institute of Building Environment and Equipment Engineering of Tsinghua University said that technology is not her main concern.

For her, climate warming is about changing a person's living habits and attitudes. She pointed out that the average Chinese use less energy than the Americans.

She said: "The Chinese have always advocated diligence and frugality, so their living habits are much more energy-efficient than Americans. For example, Americans have dryers and dishwashers. Everything is automated equipment, but Chinese I like to dry clothes naturally, and then wash the dishes by hand. These are very energy-efficient."

She also said that she was deeply impressed by Zhu Diwen. Chinese-American Zhu Diwen once won the Nobel Prize, and his parents both graduated from Tsinghua University. She said that if the governments of the United States and China can earnestly cooperate to tackle the issue of global warming, this is definitely a good thing.

Author: Veyron (Copyright, without permission, shall not be reproduced)