 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
China refuses to budge on greenhouse gases
Beijing (AFP) Aug 5, 2009 China refused to budge Wednesday on its demands that rich nations commit to large greenhouse gas cuts at upcoming climate change talks, while also declining to put a ceiling on its own emissions. China and other developing nations will call on rich countries to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2020 from 1990 levels at negotiations in Copenhagen in December, said Yu Qingtai, China's top climate negotiator. "We have all along believed that due to the historical responsibility of the developed nations, they must continue to take the lead with large reductions beyond 2012," Yu told reporters. We "have demanded that developed nations reduce emissions by 40 percent... this is fair and reasonable... China's position has not changed." The December negotiations are aimed at hammering out a new climate change pact to replace the Kyoto protocol that expires in 2012. As a developing nation with low per-capita emissions, China is not required to set emissions cuts under the UN Framework on Climate Change. The European Union has said it will slash emissions by 20 percent by 2020 compared with the 1990 level. The US Congress is considering legislation that would reduce US greenhouse gas emissions by 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020. China, the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases along with the United States, has said neither of the cuts are enough. Yu further called on rich countries to lay out concrete plans to finance technology transfers to help developing nations cut emissions. His comments came after weeks of discussions between China and the United States on climate change and after UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said late last month that Beijing was key to the success of the upcoming talks. Yu said China is seeking to increase energy efficiency by 20 percent from 2006 to 2010 as part of a plan to address global warming and will set similar targets for the period until 2020. However, China still has not projected when it will reach its peak of greenhouse gas emissions, he added. "When China reaches its emission peak will depend on its development stage, per capita GDP, national resources, technological level," Yu said. "Our experts and competent authorities are studying when China will reach its emission peak." Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links
US climate bill would raise energy costs slightly: studyWashington Aug 4, 2009 A key climate change bill now being considered by US Congress would only modestly raise annual energy costs for families, far less than some industry estimates, a federal study said Tuesday. The bill for a typical household's energy costs would increase 83 dollars per year by 2030, or an average of 23 cents per day, according to the estimate by the Energy Department's Energy Information ... read more |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2009 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook