China: Rich Nations Must Cut Emissions By 40 Percent

SHANGHAI — Wealthy nations, as history's biggest polluters, should cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent from 1990 levels by 2020, China says in a policy document on climate change. The government also rolled out fresh help for solar power and other "green energy."

The reductions China is calling for are based on the principles of "historical responsibility and fairness," the position paper says, and set a hard line ahead of international negotiations on addressing global warming.

A U.N. conference set for December in Copenhagen aims to draft a new agreement on controlling carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping greenhouse gases that scientists say are causing the Earth to warm. Delegates will meet in Bonn, Germany, next month to begin discussing the text of that agreement.

China's position paper was posted Thursday on the Web site of the National Development and Planning Commission, the country's main economic planning agency.

Meanwhile, the government announced new support for solar and wind power and other renewable energy sources.

In a meeting Thursday with provincial officials, the Ministry of Finance promised 38 billion yuan ($5.6 billion) in subsidies to promote wider use of wind and solar power and encourage the use of energy efficient cars and appliances, state-run media reported Friday.

China, which relies on heavily polluting coal for about three-quarters of its electricity, has sought to spotlight its efforts to improve energy efficiency and cut emissions, but has not committed to specific targets in climate talks.

The policy document issued this week gave no specific targets for China or other developing countries, but instead reiterated demands for technology transfers and other support.

Story continues below

advertisement

Rich countries should provide at least 0.5 percent to 1 percent of their annual gross domestic product to help developing countries upgrade technology, cut emissions and adapt to the consequences of climate change, the document said.

China has welcomed President Barack Obama's commitment to tackle climate change and re-engage in the international negotiations to come to an agreement in December.

But despite that shift, "the developed world has yet to do its due part in tackling climate change," the official newspaper China Daily said Friday in a commentary.

"No solution to fight global warming will be genuine enough, and thus practical enough, if developed countries keep glossing over their historical responsibility on this issue," it said.

The U.S. _ which also has not issued targets for reducing emissions _ has said that any agreement to combat global warming should require developing countries like India and China to reduce emissions.

Together, the U.S. and China are the world's two biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, accounting for 40 percent of the global total.

While visiting Prague this week, Premier Wen Jiabao shrugged off pressure from the European Union for China to commit to cutting greenhouse gas emissions, though he backed EU efforts to reach a new global climate change accord to replace the U.N. Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.

The EU says it will reduce emissions by 20 percent by 2020 and will go to 30 percent if major world nations will make similar cuts.

Experts say emissions must peak in 2015 and then fall by half by 2050 to limit global warming.

Comments

[KPinSEA]

Who cares what China says on this topic? Like every other policy of their government, this is only aimed at gaining them market share in the West by raising our production costs as they continue to thumb their noses at environmental, safety, and labor standards routinely accepted here.

Let's just push ahead on the reforms we need to do, take care of our own house, pioneer green products that improve our productivity and lower our own costs, and under *no circumstances* outsource the manufacturing of those products to a society with no free labor unions and nonexistent protection of intellectual property.

[vie2012ne]

Are you ready to bow to China? We cut our emissions and China doesn't, we weaken our economy relative to China, and the Chinese snicker at the stupid Americans.

[Javani]

It's hilarious. The obvious motive of the Chinese is to increase the price of the carbon offsets they sell "authenticated" by the United Nations and other rogues.

The dearth of coverage of this fact in the major media examples how brainwashed they are, and if they have doubts, their fear of upsetting their fellow travelers.

[mergina]

It is a genuine Festivus Miracle. China has finally COME ON BOARD? She has finally come to believe that she is a huge part of the problem humanity faces? Bring out the pole.

[FairTalk]

So, is it true that Obama's climate plans do not reduce our emmissions from the 1990 level? So, I think that is a topis I would like to get into, as would Ban at the UN.

[OneVoiceInACrowd]

Hey, looks like we almost have dialogue now. It is not unreasonable to expect that China's openning salvo also be unreasonable. Atleast now we have starting positions, and that, is a beginning.

I am marking this as a positive sign.

[JumpingCholla]

The Chinese are lecturing others on protecting the environment? Hypocrites and liars.

[gladiator777]

Wealthy nations? The US doesn't have a penny to its name. Same goes for western europe. Hell even if we did transition to clean fuel all of western civilization will be bankrupt and their currency utterly worthless by then.

[mioffe]

China: Rich Nations Must Cut Emissions By 40 Percent
I always think that Chinese people are very smart. How others way China will became first in the world?

[sensiblethinking]

China appears to have become number on in BS! They are putting on line the equivilent of two 500 MW power plants per week and preaching to us that we must destroy our economy and send our jobs to them "for the sake of the environment".

And the brain dead think thats so wonderful, that the Chinese can "speak environmental".

[mioffe]

Dear sensiblethinking:
North America is only one huge land from France to Japan. Cooling air with help of forests in places where we growing corn or grass for ethanol production all around USA, Canada and Mexico will mild climate in North America. It will reduce power of weather disaster and more important reduce movement of air from south to north-main reason of melting ice in Greenland.
It is more easy to move millions tons of water, to watering these forests, than millions tons of cars and people, what we did because of hurricane Gustav, or Katrina. Insurance Companies will willingly pay for systems to relocate water from flooding areas, especially if Government will create law of mandatory insurance for weather disasters in flooding areas.
We will create source of energy to power plants-wood energy-the cheapest and closest to consumer source of future energy.
If we will build small power plants to use not only electricity, but also heat we will use almost 100% of energy of the wood, not 20%. That means we will need to use three- four times less energy sources.
Of course we need time to build these small power plants, but we can grow trees as fuel for these plants right now all across USA. They will start evaporate water immediately.
We can start working on project to relocate water from flooding areas to areas with drought possibilities right now.

[Tom95134]

China will make us a deal. We cut emissions by 40% or they won't buy our treasury bills.

To quote a saying from the Nixon era, "When you've got them by the balls, the heart & mind follows."

[sensiblethinking]

China's deal is that the US cut it's emissions by 40% while it continues to bring on line the equivalent of 2-500MW coal plants per week and takes the jobs we will drive out with out environmental insanity. OH my how proud we are of what China said....as they fire up two more coal plants.

So, is anyone here brain dead enough to think China is a great environmental leader?

[AngryOhioan]

We destroy our economy reducing carbon dioxide and their 'sacrifice' is to receive money and free technology from us. That sounds like a fair deal.

[noneIn2008]

Just freeze all countries at today's levels. Why let the third world develop?

[davidwayneosedach]

China would be wise to takea look in their own backyard. Do they have a single river that is not polluted?

[research]

China takes the lead in the next big economic boom: Solar and green energy.

[LMPE]

If China really wants to verbally attack the US, they should mention US militarism and racism.

Martin Luther King Jr said something to the effect of "My country is the biggest promulgator of violence."

In that sense, China really has something going for itself.

[Woggles]

We used to criticize China for human rights abuses all the time. They saw that as hypocritical.

Now China criticizes us for polluting. We see that as hypocritical.

same thing