From: Miami Herald
Published March 17, 2009 08:50 AM
U.S., China worlds apart on climate change curbs
WASHINGTON -- China's top climate negotiator's visit to Washington Monday
sent a fresh signal that the two countries, which account for about half the
world's greenhouse gas emissions, have a long way to go to reach a common
agreement on how to cut emissions to prevent serious climate change.
China wants to become a "low-carbon society," but can't say when that will
be achieved. And it doesn't want to be held accountable for emissions it
produces to make goods for export, said Li Gao, the director of China's
climate change office.
Li described China's actions and plans on climate while the head of China's
negotiating team met with his American counterpart at the State Department.
The meeting was part of the preparations for global negotiations on an
agreement to reduce emissions in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December.
China plays a big role as the world steps up efforts to hold back global
warming.
With 1.3 billion people and a large industrial base, China is the world's
biggest source of heat-trapping gases from coal, oil and gas, just ahead of
the U.S.
Many members of Congress say they will only support mandatory emissions
limits at home if China acts too. And other countries are looking to see
what the U.S. will do to cut emissions before they make commitments of their
own toward an international agreement due in December.
China shouldn't have to take responsibility for the 15 percent to 25 percent
of its emissions that result from making products for the rest of the world,
said Li, the director of the Department of Climate Change in China's
National Development and Reform Commission. He spoke at a briefing sponsored
by the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, a nonpartisan research
organization.
"For many developing countries, not only China, we produce the products for
the consumers, especially in developed countries," Li said. He argued it
wouldn't be fair to hold China accountable because "we are on the lower end
of the economic chain of the global economy."
Li also said it would be a "disaster" - and possibly the start of a trade
war - for the U.S. to impose tariffs on imports from China or other
countries that didn't have mandatory emissions controls. He said the tariffs
would be unfair and a violation of trade rules.
Action by China will be critical for any chance for a global solution to
global warming. The 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change outlined
the dangers of letting temperature rise beyond 3.5 degrees Fahrenheit.
Many reports in the past two years find the effects of warming are happening
faster than predicted.
Last week, international scientists meeting in Copenhagen for a conference
on climate change told world leaders recent observations confirmed "the
worst-case IPCC scenario trajectories (or even worse) are being realized."
The report added many changes, such as average global temperature and
changes in the ocean, were "already moving beyond the patterns of natural
variability within which our society and economy have developed and thrived"
and that "there is a significant risk that many of the trends will
accelerate, leading to an increasing risk of abrupt or irreversible climate
shifts."
President Barack Obama has said the U.S. would follow scientific advice on
the climate and would reap benefits - including new jobs - from a shift to
cleaner energy.
Li said China saw shifting away from fossil fuels was in its own long-term
interest, "but I cannot tell you what time we can achieve it, because
there's not a format in the world," he said. "I think if developed countries
can give us an example, if the global economy can structure to a low-carbon
type, that will be helpful for the developing countries to learn the
experience and follow the trend."
China's plans call for it to reduce energy intensity - the amount of energy
needed for each unit of gross domestic product - and to increase renewable
energy to 15 percent of total energy supply by 2020. China also intends to
expand the use of biogas in rural areas, plant more trees and expand
research in clean energy.
The Chinese delegation was in Washington to talk about China's climate
policies and its negotiating position for international climate talks, but
not to try to reach any agreement with the U.S., Li said.
"We think that climate change is a global challenge," he said, and that it
had to be addressed within the United Nations climate framework. Those
negotiations are meant to reach an agreement in December, though some
experts predict 2010 is more likely.
State Department spokesman Robert Wood said the meeting was "a beginning,
and we'll see where it leads." He added the Chinese were willing "to really
engage on the subject of climate change, and we welcome that."
Originally published:
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