Sino-US global warming deal faces Republican resistance in Congress
Republicans say they will block regulations required by global warming agreement
A landmark deal on climate change between the United States and China faces immediate challenges as Republicans in Congress vowed to undermine the agreement and experts warned it would require an overhaul of China's economy.
US President Barack Obama's ramped-up push on environmental issues set up a clash with Republican leaders, who blasted the deal as bad for business and promised to try to block regulations necessary to meet its targets for curbing carbon emissions.
The stand-off was the clearest sign yet that Obama plans to prioritise his agenda - and legacy - over hopes of sowing goodwill with the incoming Republican-controlled Congress.
"I will do everything in my power to rein in ... the EPA's [Environmental Protection Agency] unchecked regulations," said Senator James Inhofe, one of Congress' most prominent climate change sceptics.
House Speaker John Boehner said: "This is the latest example of [Obama's] crusade against affordable, reliable energy that is already hurting jobs and squeezing middle-class families."
But administration officials said congressional support was not a necessity. "We have the ability under laws that have already been passed by Congress … to get these reductions," an official said.
At the heart of the pact are non-binding goals for alternative energy use and lower greenhouse gas emissions. Obama set a goal for the US to cut greenhouse gas output at least 26 per cent by 2025. China set a target for such emissions to peak "around 2030".
Analysts say the high targets can be reached only if both countries speed up the transition from carbon-based fuels.
"China will need to adjust its economic structure, limit its use of coal and scale up non-fossil energy," said Ranping Song of the World Resources Institute.
Bonnie Glaser, of the US Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said the deal was not as controversial in China as it was in the US. "Given the reaction from Republicans today, it's the president that has the uphill battle, much more than [President] Xi Jinping does."
