Japan helps China combat warming...to help Japan meet Kyoto targets

The Yomiuri Shimbun is reporting that Japan and China -- two nations that have not always gotten along -- have worked out an agreement to join forces in battling global warming.

China and the U.S. have been the two biggest emitters of greenhouse gas that have refused to sign the Kyoto Protocol, the global treaty calling for emissions cutbacks to combat warming.

But now Chinese leaders have now realized that air pollution has become a major problem, so they are ready to accept what Japan is offering: technological assistance in finding ways to lower its emission levels.

This is not an altruistic move by Japan, though. In exchange for helping China, Japan gets credits toward meeting its emissions target set under the Kyoto Protocol.

To read the full story -- though there's not much more to it at this point, click here.

--Craig Pittman