A groundbreaking agreement
struck by the United States and China is putting the world's two worst
polluters on a faster track to curbing the heat-trapping gases blamed for
global warming. With the clock ticking on a worldwide climate treaty, the two countries
are seeking to put their troubled history as environmental adversaries behind
them in hopes that other nations will be spurred to take equally aggressive
action. The U.S., a chief proponent of the prospective treaty, is setting an
ambitious new goal to stop pumping as much carbon dioxide into the air. China,
whose appetite for cheap energy has grown along with its burgeoning economy,
agreed for the first time to a self-imposed deadline for when its emissions
will top out.