Two of the main contributers to global greenhouse gas emissions are working on a collaboration to finally take on the world’s biggest challenge. “Both sides recognize that, given the latest scientific understanding of accelerating climate change and the urgent need to intensify global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, forceful, nationally appropriate action by the United States and China – including large-scale cooperative action – is more critical than ever”, a statement, both countries released lately, reads.

US Secretary of State John Kerry visited Beijing during his tour through the region. The paper could be seen as a step forward, as both states, the world’s two biggest economies, are business rivals. China describes itself as a developing country, which emits far less carbon per capita and therefore should not have to bear the same burden as advanced economies in tackling the problem.

“By agreeing to raise the issue of climate change and energy policy to the ministerial level … we put on an accelerated basis at a higher level our joint efforts with respect to energy and climate”, US Secretary of State Kerry said. “And I think that globally that will be a very significant step and significant message.”

According to Chinese State Councillor Yang Jiechi , the nation’s top foreign policy official, the two sides would “strengthen practical cooperation” in areas including the economy, energy and environmental protection.

“Such action is crucial”, the statement adds, “both to contain climate change and to set the kind of powerful example that can inspire the world.”

Gita Wirjawan heads up the Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board. He talked to GLOBAL IDEAS about the impact of climate change on his country and how Indonesia deals with the challenge.

At the end of his filming trip to the Philippines, our reporter Carl Gierstorfer talked to one of our first GLOBAL IDEAS ambassadors. Read Carl's final dispatch from Manila:

"Meet Eric Raymundo, an engineer and environmental practitioner here in the Philippines. Eric caught our attention because he is such an enthusiastic follower of the Global Ideas project. Eric's enthusiasm is rooted in his deep concern for nature and a sustainable way of living. A former scuba diver, Eric now consults businesses in the Philippines on how to save energy and resources; eventually he wants to build a network of zero carbon tourism resorts in the Philippines. His work is part of the Switch-Asia project, funded by the European commission and carried out in collaboration with the Center for Appropriate Technology at Vienna University of Technology.

In this little movie you will hear about Eric's realistic approach to getting things done; his concerns about global warming and his idea for a cooler world. Enjoy."
 

GLOBAL IDEAS talked to Sushma Joshi, a Nepali writer and filmmaker based in Kathmandu. In our interview, she says that the developing world suffers from the consequences of climate change – while industrialized countries are largely responsible. And if those countries don't change their policies, the world could look very bleak in 50 years.

Joshi's book End of the World was long-listed for the Frank O' Connor International Short Story Award in 2009. She's the author of a widely read Sunday column in Nepal's leading English-language daily "The Kathmandu Post". Her 2006 short-film "The Escape" about a teacher targeted by rebels was accepted to the Berlinale Talent Campus.

For more on Sushma Joshi have a look at her blog: The Global And The Local