AKIPRESS.COM - President Obama's climate change agreement with China, which was announced Wednesday, has changed the agenda for the G20 summit that started Saturday, reports USA Today. 

The U.S.-China pledge announced in Beijing to reduce carbon emissions caught Australian summit planners off guard. The accord between the world's two biggest polluters had not been expected, and Australia's conservative prime minister Tony Abbott initially resisted putting climate change on the G20 agenda. Australia is the rotating chairman of the G20, formed in 2008 to deal with pressing global economic issues.

In Brisbane, Obama will also announce a $3 billion U.S. contribution to the United Nations Green Climate Fund that facilitates poorer countries' investments in clean energy. The George W. Bush administration into 2008 had pledged $2 billion to the World Bank's Climate Investment Funds.

U.S. officials say the contribution will promote sustainable growth while preserving stability and security in some of the world's most fragile regions. The contribution, they say, demonstrates the need to reach across traditional divides to tackle climate change.

The G20 summit brings together heads of state and government from both advanced and emerging economies. Several of the leaders, including Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin, participated in the Asia Pacific Economic forum in Beijing earlier this week.

The U.S.-China commitment to cut emissions is being praised by European leaders at the summit. EU council president Herman Van Rompuy said Saturday the deal is significant and makes success more likely at next year's climate conference in Paris. Van Rompuy emphasizes that the 28 European Union comprise the world's most energy efficient region, having already cut carbon emissions by 40%.