China Unveils Emissions Targets
Author: Daily Graphic - Daily Graphic
Date: Mon, 30 Nov 2009
Date: Mon, 30 Nov 2009
China has unveiled its first firm target for limiting greenhouse gas emissions, two weeks before a global summit on climate change in Copenhagen.
Beijing said it would aim to reduce its 'carbon intensity' by 40-45 percent by the year 2020, compared with 2005 levels.
Carbon intensity, China's preferred measurement, is the amount of carbon dioxide emitted for each unit of GDP.
But it does not mean China's overall levels of carbon dioxide will start falling.
Its economy is still growing and is mostly fuelled by polluting coal.
It will be at least a couple of decades before China's emissions peak, so it is likely to remain the largest polluter for some time to come.
The 40-45 per cent target for cutting carbon intensity is ambitious - more ambitious than many observers had expected.
But it doesn't mean China's emissions will fall - in fact they are still likely to rise, with the rate at which economic growth rises outstripping the rate at which carbon intensity falls.
This is exactly the kind of plan that major developing countries were supposed to take to the Copenhagen summit.
Coming on the heels of President Obama's decision to put numbers on the table for cutting US emissions, it is likely to make discussions in Copenhagen a lot more straightforward.
But whether developing countries are impressed by the size of the US commitment is another matter.
The Copenhagen UN summit - between December 7-18 — aims to draw up a treaty to succeed the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, although observers say this is unlikely.
Beijing also said yesterday that Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao would attend the talks.
That confirmation came a day after US President Barack Obama said he would also go to the summit.
The US - the second largest polluter after China - said President Obama would offer to cut US emissions by 17 per cent from 2005 levels by 2020.
But the offer was less than hoped for by the EU, Japan and UN scientists - most other countries' targets are given in comparison with 1990 figures.
The US figure amounts to just a few percentage points, as its emissions have risen by about 15 per cent since 1990.
This is much less than the EU's pledge of a 20 per cent cut over the same period, or a 30 per cent cut if there is a global deal; and much less than the 25-40 per cent figure that developing countries are demanding.
President Obama will arrive at the summit after it opens and will not stay until the end, when delegates hope to stitch together a deal. While in Europe, he will also collect his Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo.
Yesterday's announcement by China marks the first time it has issued numerical targets for plans to curb the growth of greenhouse gas emissions.
A statement from Beijing's State Council, or cabinet, said, 'This is a voluntary action taken by the Chinese government based on its own national conditions and is a major contribution to the global effort in tackling climate change,' Xinhua news agency reported.
China is showing that it wants to play a leading role in tackling global climate change, he adds.
It has already made a pledge to increase its renewable energy targets to grow more forests and develop green industries.—BBC
