The signing of the agreement will take place during a ceremony at the United Nations in New York.
The international agreement was reached in December in Paris. It set a target of limiting the globe’s warming to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and trying to hold warming to 1.5 degrees C if possible.
The White House said officials in the US and China hope that by joining now, they can kick start global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
During the climate talks, the presence and support of US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping and were critical factors in securing a comprehensive, longer term deal.
At the time, President Obama was touting the implementation of his administrations "Clean Power Plan," which would impose limits on greenhouse gas emissions from the nation’s heavily polluting power sector.
But in February, the U.S. Supreme Court stunned the White House by ruling 5-4 to prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from enforcing the rules until a legal dispute over the rules has been settled.
Bowed, but unbroken, the Obama administration continues to insist the Clean Power Plan will be implemented before the president leaves office.
China, meanwhile pledged in Paris to end the annual growth in its climate-changing pollution rates by 2030, but scientists later found the country's targets were actually hit in 2014 -- creating pressure on the China to propose a more meaningful target.
In their joint statement on Thursday, the US and Chinese leaders reemphasized their commitments to the necessary "domestic steps in order to join the agreement as early as possible this year."
The presidents also unveiled additional steps they now plan to take to slow climate change. Among these is a commitment to address the issue of airline emissions - something left unaddressed in the Paris accord.
(Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy.)
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