China’s climate reduction policy has always been long term. Although Hu Jintao set the stage for the UN climate talks in NYC last September, there were no firm accountable numbers. They maintained that China would not set firm emissions targets until the big emitters of the west, the US and the EU accepted their responsibilities and opted for their own commitments.
Fast on the heels of the US offer of firm emissions reductions and the announcement of Obama going to Copenhagen China announced last night that by 2020 it will cut its emissions per unit of GDP by between 40 and 45 per cent relative to 2005 levels.
This is what’s known as carbon efficiency, and the announcement follows on president Hu Jintao’s promise in September that the country would improve carbon efficiency ”by a notable margin by 2020 from the 2005 level”. China’s climate ambassador,Yu Qingtai, yesterday said China will not adopt fixed emissions targets at the December UN climate negotiations, reports China Daily.
China’s State Council seems to have gone to pains to point out that not only will the target contribute to global efforts to curb global warming, it will also serve the nation’s own development. The move was “a voluntary action” taken by the Chinese government “based on our own national conditions”, says the State Council, and “is a major contribution to the global effort in tackling climate change”, according to the Chinese online news agency, Xinhua.
“Appropriate handling of the climate change issue,” the council’s statement went on, “is of vital interest to China’s social and economic development and people’s benefits, as well as the interests of all the people in the world and the world’s long-term development.”
As the UNFCC climate negotiations kick off in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 10 days, on the 7th of December, and are scheduled to conclude on 18 December this is really good news. Recent reports have suggested that the conference might come to very little.
But it now seems there may well be firm targets on the table. All eyes are now on India, another major emitter in the developing world who in typically Indian style will come last in announcing, but with the most ambitious goal of CO2 reductions. This game of Copenhagen is just getting warm…
