USA and China important foundation for international climate agreement

Federal Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks issued the following statement on the climate commitments made by the USA and China: 

"I welcome the high-level commitments made by the USA and China to ambitious climate action. This shows that Europe's ambitious 40 percent reduction target by 2030 is having an impact worldwide. The world's largest emitters have now made it clear that they are prepared to take decisive action. This is a good sign for the upcoming climate conferences in Lima and Paris and a good foundation for an agreement in which all major countries will commit to effective climate action. The targets planned by the USA and China are an important first step, but are in my opinion not enough to meet the internationally agreed 2 degree target. For this to happen, this step must be followed by more in the course of negotiations."