Sachs warns of global warming disaster

UNITED NATIONS – The world faces a global warming disaster if the United States and China do not take decisive action to cut greenhouse gas emissions, a leading economist said at the U.N. Friday.

Jeffrey Sachs, speaking at the U.N. with British economist Sir Nicholas Stern, said the commitment of the two largest emitters of greenhouse gases is “absolutely fundamental” to forging a comprehensive agreement on global warming.


“It’s a mistake to let either China or the U.S. think they are doing a lot,” said Sachs, former head of the U.N. Millennium Project. “We have to look at the numbers all the time, not just the direction, not the sentiment, not the announcements. We have to look at the numbers because that’s all that counts in the end.”

Stern said, however, that both the U.S. and China are doing more to cut carbon dioxide emissions than the other believes.

AP