Time to slow global warming

Sacramento Bee: Opponents of strong and necessary action on climate change like to say that it doesn’t matter what we do because China is spewing greenhouse gases like there’s no tomorrow.

They’ll have to flail around for another excuse now that the U.S. and China have reached a landmark agreement that will pressure other major carbon-emitting countries to join as well.

After too many years of too little action since the Kyoto accords in 1997, the timing of the historic pact announced Wednesday is critical to break the stalemate.

The U.S. and China are by far the world’s largest carbon polluters, accounting for more than one-third of the global total. They have been at odds on the issue, and their inaction gave cover to India and other developing nations to stay on the sidelines.

This deal will boost momentum going into a meeting next month in Peru, the last major negotiating session before a conference in December 2015 in Paris to enact a new international agreement to reduce carbon emissions.

The entire world must take bold steps starting now — when there’s still a chance to slow global warming before it becomes too difficult and expensive. Otherwise, we should prepare for more frequent extreme weather, faster sea level rise and humanitarian disaster.