On September 25, the Presidents of the United States and China released a joint statement on climate change, lending strong support to COP21 and calls for "formulating and making available mid-century strategies for the transition to low-carbon economies, mindful of the below 2 degree C global temperature goal." This is the first time both countries have publicly committed to preparing long-term deep decarbonization pathways that are consistent with 2°C. As demonstrated by the Deep Decarbonization Pathway Project (DDPP), such long-term pathways are indispensable for ensuring that short-term emission reduction strategies are consistent with limiting average global temperature increase to 2°C. The DDPP, comprising research teams from 16 countries including the US and China, will launch its 2015 Global Synthesis Report in October. The Executive Summary and individual country reports are already available at deepdecarbonization.org.