23 September 2009 | Luca Del Buono

 

Despite hopes that China would unveil targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions and break the deadlock in global climate talks, President Hu Jintao told a United Nations summit that Beijing will put a "notable" brake on the country's soaring carbon emissions.

The leader of the world's biggest emitter promised that China would cut "carbon intensity," or the amount of carbon dioxide produced for each dollar of economic output, over the decade to 2020.

A follow-up treaty to the Kyoto Protocol is supposed to be finalised at talks starting on 7 December in Copenhagen, but diplomats have made almost no progress towards an agreement - a point stressed repeatedly by world leaders gathering in New York yesterday (22 September).China edges closer to a firm commitment?

His pledge was perceived as going in the right direction as China had previously rejected rich nations' demands for measurable curbs on its emissions, arguing that economic development must come first while millions of its citizens still live in abject poverty.

However, the promise disappointed those who had expected China to unveil sound targets. "I didn't hear new initiatives so much," said Todd Stern, US special envoy on climate change and one of the most vocal critics of China's emissions policy.

"It depends on what the number is and he didn't indicate the extent to which those reductions would be made."

Nobel laureate and former US Vice-President Al Gore praised China for "impressive leadership" and said Hu's goals pointed to more action.

"They are very important and we've had [...] indications that in the event there is dramatic progress in these negotiations, then China will be prepared to do even more," he said.

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Source: EurActiv

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