She added that the U.S. is working with other countries to create long-term policies to address the price increase before it becomes "a very serious crisis."

The most important development in climate change cooperation between China and the United States is the creation of the Clean Technology Fund, which was announced by U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson six months ago, McMurray said.

The United States contributed an initial $2 billion to the fund and both the United Kingdom and Japan made commitments to contribute an additional several billion dollars, she said. She added that she hoped the World Bank would also add a contribution.

"It would help all of our countries, but in particular, developing countries and China to not only make more technology available to push more sophisticated technology but to make it more affordable for everyone so that it will be widely used," she said.

She also discussed the Asia-Pacific Partnership, which has seven members: the United States, China, Korea, Japan, Australia, Canada and India.

"The objective there is to take technology that is within our reach, that is not 50 years away, that is right here, right now, something that needs to be more widely adopted in countries like China and countries like India," she said.

"So the United States and some of the other developed countries provide seed money to get the private sector then to invest in China and India in the ways of technology."

She said the U.S. takes its responsibility for reducing greenhouse gas emissions "very seriously."