:00:21. > :00:25.China and the United states have formally joined the global agreement
:00:26. > :00:31.on tackling climate change reached in Paris last year.
:00:32. > :00:37.The two countries represent 40% of the world's carbon emissions.
:00:38. > :00:40.Speaking at a news conference ahead of the G20 summit in China,
:00:41. > :00:42.President Obama said the agreement might be remembered
:00:43. > :00:45.as the moment we finally decided to save our planet.
:00:46. > :00:46.Our correspondent John Sudworth reports
:00:47. > :00:49.from the city hosting the summit, Hangzhou.
:00:50. > :00:51.Under blue skies, free of the all-too-common scourge
:00:52. > :00:55.the US president arrived in China with climate change on his mind.
:00:56. > :01:04.that it had ratified the Paris agreement on climate change,
:01:05. > :01:06.with President Xi Jinping speaking of his vision
:01:07. > :01:26.And then it was President Obama's turn to announce that the US, too,
:01:27. > :01:31.was ratifying the treaty much earlier than expected.
:01:32. > :01:41.that you need to put your money where your mouth is.
:01:42. > :01:43.And when it comes to combating climate change,
:01:44. > :01:47.The Paris Climate Agreement was signed at the end of last year
:01:48. > :01:51.It aims to keep the average rise in global temperatures
:01:52. > :01:58.if ratified by at least 55 countries
:01:59. > :01:59.representing 55% of global carbon emissions.
:02:00. > :02:02.The US and China together account for almost 40%,
:02:03. > :02:10.so today's announcement marks a big step forward.
:02:11. > :02:14.US/China relations are often strained
:02:15. > :02:16.but by making this joint announcement
:02:17. > :02:23.here in front of the world's media,
:02:24. > :02:27.President Xi gets to burnish his reputation
:02:28. > :02:35.and President Obama, with just a few months left in office,
:02:36. > :02:37.gets to cement his legacy on an important policy priority.
:02:38. > :02:40.Critics of the Paris deal say it doesn't go far enough to curb
:02:41. > :02:43.emissions but few can doubt the symbolism of the world's two
:02:44. > :02:44.biggest polluters ratifying the document.
:02:45. > :02:47.And by doing it here at the G20 summit,
:02:48. > :02:58.the hope is other nations will now be encouraged to follow suit.
:02:59. > :03:05.One of the global leader is of course making her way here, Theresa
:03:06. > :03:12.May has already come under pressure for Britain to ratify the Paris
:03:13. > :03:16.climate accord. That pressure will only increase among what we have
:03:17. > :03:21.seen today. I have been handed a statement from a spokesperson for
:03:22. > :03:23.the Prime Minister, it says that the government will ratify it as soon as
:03:24. > :03:31.possible but there is no date yet. An NHS group in North Yorkshire has
:03:32. > :03:33.said it could refuse non-emergency surgery to obese patients,
:03:34. > :03:36.for up to a year The Vale of York Commissioning Group
:03:37. > :03:39.says the move is just one which would also affect
:03:40. > :03:42.people who smoke. Our correspondent Sharon Barbour
:03:43. > :03:53.is outside York Hospital. What more can you tell us? What the
:03:54. > :03:58.Vale of York clinical commissioning group has said is that is that it is
:03:59. > :04:05.under severe financial pressure, wanting to save up to ?12 million in
:04:06. > :04:10.the next year. It has come up with a plan, for those people who have a
:04:11. > :04:13.body mass index of 30 or over, they may have to wait up to one year for
:04:14. > :04:26.non-life-threatening surgery but life changing surgery, to knees and
:04:27. > :04:28.hips, and smokers will have to give up smoking or wait up to six months
:04:29. > :04:32.for surgery. The bishop of Grantham has become
:04:33. > :04:35.the first Church of England bishop to publicly announce that he is gay
:04:36. > :04:38.and in a relationship. Bishop Nicholas Chamberlain, who is
:04:39. > :04:44.connected to the Lincoln diocese, says he is in a "long-term,
:04:45. > :04:46.committed" partnership and obeys the Church's
:04:47. > :04:51.guidelines on celibacy. A Church of England spokesman said
:04:52. > :04:53.the bishop hasn't "misled" anyone and has been open and truthful
:04:54. > :04:56.about his private life. The use of microbeads are to be
:04:57. > :04:59.banned in everyday bathroom products There are concerns
:05:00. > :05:03.the microscopic pieces of plastic found in items such
:05:04. > :05:06.as toothpaste and body scrubs Look closely and you still
:05:07. > :05:10.can't see many of them. The chances are your bathroom
:05:11. > :05:13.is full of them. as many as 100,000 going down
:05:14. > :05:17.the drain 680 tonnes of plastic microbeads
:05:18. > :05:35.are used in cosmetics every year, and of course if that
:05:36. > :05:38.is in a shower gel it will pass straight down the drain
:05:39. > :05:41.to sewage treatment. Some of it will be intercepted
:05:42. > :05:44.there, but substantial quantities are likely to pass directly
:05:45. > :05:46.into the sea, into rivers. There is concern they then
:05:47. > :05:51.end up in our food. can contain up to 50
:05:52. > :05:55.particles of plastic. have voluntarily committed to
:05:56. > :06:07.phasing out the use of microbeads. The United States has already
:06:08. > :06:09.announced a ban. The Government says it will start
:06:10. > :06:11.the consultation on its proposed ban soon, with the aim being the law
:06:12. > :06:15.will be changed in under 18 months. The Government says it will also
:06:16. > :06:18.gather evidence on the effect of beads in domestic
:06:19. > :06:20.and industrial cleaning products. But they are also rubbed off car
:06:21. > :06:22.tyres Green campaigners have
:06:23. > :06:30.welcomed the ban, It is a reminder that
:06:31. > :06:33.although some environmental damage we do is visible,
:06:34. > :06:35.plenty is not. You can see more on all of today's
:06:36. > :06:52.stories on the BBC News Channel. The next news on BBC One is at 5.40
:06:53. > :06:56.pm, until then, bye for now.