UN Summit in New York Begins Tackling Climate Change

China and Japan headed Tuesday’s UN climate summit in New York City, promising new, more aggressive action towards climate change for both countries. President Obama also stepped forward and said that the US would begin working to do away with international subsidies for fossil fuels like coal and oil.

The heads of state from over 100 countries were gathered together to discuss the political and social ramifications of global climate change at Tuesday’s summit.

The summit was convened by UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, and aimed to help world leaders overcome the current stall on dealing with global warming issues. The main goal was for the UN countries to reach a new accord for climate change as the Kiyoto Protocol expires in 2012.

Many of the leaders present have said that the summit had produced several productive, viable solutions, but also said that reaching an agreement suitable for everyone in December in Copenhagen would be difficult.