China vital for cutting greenhouse gases, EU official says

European Union climate negotiator Connie Hedegaard started her four-day "note-comparing" tour in China on Wednesday as the international community is working on a 2030 road map to reduce greenhouse gases.

Hedegaard, the EU commissioner for climate action, has urged big emitters such as the United States, the European Union and China to make "more efforts" to cut emissions and achieve low-carbon growth to tackle global warming.

"China's cooperation and contribution are vital for the success of the Paris climate change conference," Hedegaard said in an exclusive interview shortly before her departure to China.

In 2015, the UN will meet in Paris to negotiate a global road map on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and lowering carbon growth. But first, the UN will meet in September for a summit on sustainability in New York to bolster political support.

Hedegaard called the upcoming New York summit an "awareness-raising occasion" that aims to place climate change at the top of leaders' agendas.

"I hope that our European leaders as well as the US president and Chinese leadership will be able to indicate that they are going to deliver in Paris next year," she said.

She said EU heads of state have already decided that they are going to adopt the 2030 target of greenhouse gas reduction by October.

"This is very important in formulating our policies and strategies before the Paris meeting next year."

She said she and her Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua will discuss the expectations for the Paris 2015 climate change conference as well as the EU-China cooperation on lowering greenhouse emissions during her visit.

"I hope from now on up to Paris 2015, we don't spend so much time discussing that only a handful of countries should deliver binding targets in tackling climate change," she said. "We must realize that we all have a responsibility."

She continued, "The world will not be able to tackle climate change efficiently enough without a strong contribution from China."

Hedegaard arrived in China with the 2030 road map, in which EU countries would agree to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent compared with levels in 1990.

This time, Hedegaard said, Brussels will commit to the target no matter what the rest of the world will do.

"I think we are doing a lot to hit the target. We are very committed to continue doing that."

Hedegaard has called for "collective responsibility" in coping with climate change but she said she believes that all countries should not do the same.

Beijing has not changed its stance on "common but differentiated" principles in tackling climate change, saying developed countries have contributed tremendously to greenhouse gases since industrialization and must set binding targets to reduce carbon emissions while giving a helping hand to developing countries.

During his recent trip to Europe, President Xi Jinping said China is still a developing country, though it is the world's second-biggest economy.

On designing the climate target for 2030, China is still uncertain when its carbon emissions will peak.

Still, China has made a lot of efforts - which Hedegaard called "concrete steps" - in tackling climate change and in recent years, the country has followed the EU's lead by launching several provincial and regional carbon markets.

fujing@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 04/24/2014 page11)