PRIME Minister Kevin Rudd and US President Barack Obama will meet in Washington next week in an 11th-hour bid to improve the chances of a strong agreement at Copenhagen to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
The announcement came as China and the US boosted hopes for a political deal on climate change by revealing the emissions targets they would take to the UN summit.
Mr Obama and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao also announced they would both attend the talks.
China last night committed to cutting its emissions intensity by 40-45 per cent between 2005 and 2020.
"This is a voluntary action taken by the Chinese Government based on its own national conditions and is a major contribution to the global effort in tackling climate change," Xinhua News Agency quoted a statement from the State Council, or cabinet, as saying.
It means China will reduce the emissions for each unit of GDP. The absolute level of China's emissions will nevertheless rise significantly if China continues at anything like the pace of growth of the past 30 years.
Views were mixed as to whether the Chinese target would make a meaningful deal at Copenhagen more likely. Some said it was not much different to the "business as usual" case, where carbon intensity would naturally fall as the efficiency of the economy improved.
The US President had earlier said he would attend the Copenhagen conference on December 9 armed with targets for the US to cut its emissions progressively.
While only provisional - they have not been backed by the US Congress - the targets offered were seen as an attempt to build confidence that the US was serious about being part of a climate pact.
Mr Obama proposed a 2020 target of a 17 per cent cut below 2005 levels - in line with the climate bill that passed the US House of Representatives.
Critics pointed out it equated to only about a 5 per cent below 1990 levels, the baseline year under the UN's Kyoto Protocol.
It also did not include an offer on funding to help poor nations adapt - considered crucial to a deal.
Australia has a 2020 target range of 5-25 per cent below 2000 levels, depending on the level of international agreement. Mr Obama's announcement that he would attend the UN summit on the way to collecting the Nobel Peace Prize in Norway received a largely warm response, despite it being timed to miss other leaders.
"This announcement will help build momentum towards an ambitious target at Copenhagen," Prime Minister Rudd said.
About 65 world leaders plan to attend the final days of the conference, which will run from December 7 to 18.
The Rudd-Obama meeting will be held overnight Monday, after a Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Trinidad.
Mr Obama's pledge, including targets for 2025 and 2030 and scaling up to an 83 per cent cut by 2050, is effectively a bet that the US Senate will pass a climate bill and be prepared to ratify an international agreement.
Email a friend