China optimistic about climate talks
Print Edition
CHINA expects world leaders at the upcoming climate talks in Paris to reach consensus and secure a legally binding treaty, a top official said yesterday.
The Conference of the Parties, which is set to run from November 30 to December 11, will be the latest attempt by global leaders to forge a deal intended to avert more heat waves, floods and rising seas following the failure of climate talks in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2009.
Almost 200 nations will attend the summit, where the legal status of a climate treaty will be one of the key issues to be resolved.
The European Union and some developing nations are pushing for an internationally binding text, while others, including the United States, want only national enforcement.
“Currently there are still some differences, but I believe that once the negotiations get under way, each country will play a constructive role and all will be able to adopt flexible positions,” Xie Zhenhua, China’s special representative on climate change, told a news briefing in Beijing.
“In the final phase we should be able to obtain some consensus,” he said.
The United Nations said it is already clear that the pledges made by all governments to shift from fossil fuels will be insufficient to meet the target of halting global temperatures at 2 degrees Celsius above those of pre-industrial times.
As one of the world’s top greenhouse gas emitters, China pledged last year to peak its emissions by about 2030, though it has yet to say at what level.
In September, it agreed to stand together with the US to push for emissions targets to “ramp up over time in the direction of greater ambition.”
Asked if China could go further to help achieve a deal in Paris, Xie said a higher target would require upgrading its technology and financial incentives.
China’s current commitments have taken two years of preparation, he said, adding that “we can guarantee we will fulfill this goal.”
A new deal should reflect the principles of “common but differentiated responsibilities (CDR)” and “respective capabilities,” he said.
The Paris conference is the latest attempt by world leaders to reduce carbon emissions through a legally binding treaty. Expectations are high that the summit can conclude in an agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocol.
Major differences remain, however, particularly on the principle of CDR. Accords and conventions reached previously agreed that rich countries should mobilize US$100 billion by 2020 to help developing countries fight climate change.
Developed nations still have much to do in their pledges to provide money and transfer low-carbon and environmentally friendly technologies to developing countries, Xie said.
“Each country should deliver what they have promised, which is the basic foundation of political trust,” he said.
Yu Qingchan, leader of climate change research at Beijing’s Global Environmental Institute, said preparation work for the Paris summit has been much more efficient than that for Copenhagen.
“In contrast to the 2009 conference, many countries have submitted their own targets and commitments ahead of the Paris talks, so we should be more optimistic about the outcome,” he said.
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