One of the key outcomes of international global warming negotiations must be a focus on what actions key countries undertake to reduce their emissions. On that front, there are promising signs. Countries accounting for over 80 percent of the world's emissions have now committed to specific actions that they will undertake at home to reduce their global warming pollution. You might think that countries are sitting around and waiting for others to act, for the international agreement to be finalized, or for a new "binding" agreement before they take steps to reduce their emissions. If you think this, you would be completely wrong.

Real action is beginning to happen in key countries. Key countries are moving to implement laws, policies, and programs to meet their commitments. Of course, these actions aren't sufficient to meet their commitments or to solve global warming. But they are sending a signal that they are serious about addressing their pollution. They are building the foundations for real actions in their country that can be built build upon over time.

Just look at what is happening in some key countries.

China announced that it will have a domestically binding greenhouse gas intensity target (GHG emissions/GDP) in its next 5-year plan which runs from 2010-2015. There are signals this plan will also include a significant new energy intensity target (energy/GDP) which would help push China within reach of its target to reduce carbon intensity by 40-45 percent by 2020 from 2005 levels. And China just announced a national demand-side management program which would require that all electric utilities make significant investments in energy efficiency (as my colleagues will blog in detail later). For more details see our fact sheet and blogs from our China Program.

India is implementing actions to help it meet its greenhouse gas intensity target. It is doing this by: (1) providing subsidies, feed-in tariffs, and other policies for solar to significantly ramp-up the amount installed in India; (2) implementing a program to create targets for industrial plants to improve their energy efficiency – called the "Perform, Achieve, and Trade" program; and (3) implemented a "clean energy tax" on coal to create a national fund to support renewable energy projects. For more details see our fact sheet and blogs from members of our India team.

United States is moving forward with its existing tools despite the fact that the US Senate failed to pass a comprehensive energy and climate bill. It is taking action under the Clean Air Act by making the "endangerment finding", establishing new emissions standards for passenger and heavy-duty vehicles (see here, here, and here), and will be making the first reductions for new power plants and industrial expansions next year. At the same time they are also implementing new appliance efficiency standards and other measures. And at the state level California voters just resoundingly supported continued action in the state and the emissions trading system in the US northeast is considering its deepened effort. For more detail see blogs from our climate and energy team (here, here, and here).

The European Union has begun outlining the details of how companies in the EU will have to comply with its domestic cap-and-trade system beyond 2012 as it has outlined the stringency of the target in 2013 (the first year of the next phase of their program). And the EU is under discussion to increase their effort by cutting emissions to 30% below 1990 levels in 2020.