WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2009  – information from IPS reporting from Washington.

U.S. President Barack Obama arrives in Tokyo Thursday for the first stop of his four-nation trip to Asia, but an ongoing disagreement over realignment of U.S. forces in Japan, new roadblocks towards a free trade agreement (FTA) with South Korea, and continuing tussles over climate change, trade and currency issues with China have led the White House to downplay goals for the northeast Asian legs of trip.

The four-day visit to China, next week, will require  diplomacy as Obama seeks to find new areas for U.S.-Chinese cooperation, especially in the light of the recent global financial crisis.

While the White House has attempted to coax China to consume more domestically and allow its currency to strengthen, it seems unlikely that Washington will push Beijing – currently the biggest U.S. creditor – for serious concession during the visit.

In an interview with Reuters, Obama did say, “Currency, along with a host of other issues, will come up,” during his trip to China and in talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao.

Among those issues will certainly be climate change, where the U.S. and China – clearly the absolute two world’s largest carbon emitters – will need to cooperate in order to bring about a meaningful global climate change agreement in Copenhagen in December.

The trip to China will allow Obama and his team to gain exposure to the myriad of voices in Shanghai and Beijing who represent both the current and future Chinese leadership.

Further – “China is in the midst of a significant political transition, and President Obama should make sure to stop by for a chat with the next generation of Chinese leaders – Li Keqiang, Li Yuanchao, and Xi Jinping,” wrote the Council on Foreign Relations’ director of Asian Studies, Elizabeth C. Economy. “In just two-and-half years, they will be the ones President Obama faces across the dinner table.”

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In  a communication from Andrea Brown – of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) we learn that while President Obama is in China, the Business Council will have two workshops on Green House Gasses. Is this a mere coincidence?

Nov 9, 2009

Following the success of the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard and Project Protocol, the WRI/WBCSD GHG Protocol Initiative is developing two new standards for product and supply chain greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting and reporting.

To develop the new standards, the GHG Protocol Initiative is following the same broad, multi-stakeholder process used to develop previous standards, with participation from businesses, policy-makers, NGOs, academics and other experts and stakeholders from around the world.

The new GHG Protocol standards will provide a standardized method to inventory the emissions associated with individual products across their full life cycles and of corporate value chains, taking into account impacts both upstream and downstream of the company’s operations. By taking a comprehensive approach to GHG measurement and management, businesses and policymakers can focus attention on the greatest opportunities to reduce emissions within the full value chain, leading to more sustainable decisions about the products we buy, sell, and produce.

In this context, the World Resources Institute (WRI) and World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) have just added an additional Stakeholder Workshop in Berlin on November 17th to get stakeholder feedback on the Scope 3 and Product Standard drafts, both of which will be released for stakeholder comment prior to the workshop.

For further information or to sign up to participate in the Berlin Workshop, please click on: http://www.ghgprotocol.org/stakeholder-r…

Other workshop dates and locations that are at capacity include:
- Guangzhou, China (17 November) (now full);
- Beijing, China (19 November) (now full);
- London, UK (20 November)(now full);
- and, Washington, DC, USA (1 December) (now full).

Please visit the GHG Protocol website for additional information on the Initiative at www.ghgprotocol.com.

Thank you,

Andrea Brown
World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)