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China adheres to green commitment: official

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-09-03 21:31

GENEVA: China stands for international cooperation in addressing climate change and will continue to actively participate in the global process for tackling the challenge, a Chinese leader said here Thursday.

"The issue of climate change calls for common and active responses from the international community as it concerns the well-being of all peoples and the global sustainable development," Vice Premier Hui Lingyu said at a high-level session of the Third World Climate Conference.

Despite the great impact of the financial crisis on China's economy, the country's "determination to address climate change remains unchanged, and we will not slacken our efforts," Hui said at the conference, which started Monday.

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Hui stressed that China would continue to actively advance the global process of addressing climate change. He said it also would work for positive achievements at the upcoming climate change conference in Copenhagen, Denmark.

China, he said, would remain committed to the basic frameworks of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol, sustainable development and to the principle of 'common but differentiated responsibilities.'"

"We advocate that the Copenhagen conference should strictly follow the mandate of the Bali Road Map, further strengthen the comprehensive, effective and sustained implementation of the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol, and consider in a coordinated manner mitigation, adaptation, technology transfer and financial support," he said.

The vice premier also reiterated that developed countries should continue to take the lead in undertaking quantified emission reduction commitments while developing countries should contribute as their ability permits.

Hui also outlined China's domestic policies and actions in dealing with climate change, pointing out that it was the first developing country to launch a national program to cope with the problem.

"China has clearly stated that, from 2005 to 2010, its energy comsumption per unit GDP will be reduced by about 20 percent, main pollutants emissions by 10 percent, and its forest coverage be increased to 20 percent from 18 percent," he said.

To respond more effectively to climate change, China has established a national group to consider the issue, he said. China also has adopted a series of policies and measures to, among other things, phase out backward production facilities and develop renewable energies, he said.

The WCC-3 was organized by the Geneva-based World Meteorological Organization, which also sponsored the first two world climate conferences in 1979 and 1990.