Add ressing Clim ate Crisis

Add ressing Clim ate Crisis

A series of extreme global weather events, like floods in Pakistan and droughts in Russia, should serve as a call to the world to take action against climate change. But worries have been mounting since global climate talks stalled, partly due to rifts between developed and developing countries.What efforts should be made to force progress in the negotiating process? What role has China p layed in combating climate change? Su W ei, China’s chief climate negotiator and Director-General of the Climate Change Department of the National Development and Reform Comm ission (NDRC),sat down w ithBeijing Reviewreporter Hu Yue to answer these questions and more.Edited excerpts follow:

Beijing Review: The fou r th round o f th is year’s in ternationa l clim ate ta lks and the BASIC [China, Ind ia,Brazil and South Africa]M inisterial M eeting concluded in Tianjin, China,in early October. What progress was made at the conferences?

Su W ei: Both conferences have borne bountiful fruits. It was the fi rst time that China hosted international climate talks. It shows China’s willingness and effort in contributing to the Bali Road Map negotiation. The country made extensive preparations. Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change(UNFCCC), hailed the Tianjin conference as one of the most successful climate meetings in the past two decades, and the contribution of the Chinese Government is highly appreciated.

Negotiators upgraded the negotiation text that w ill be forwarded to the Cancún conference. Though the text was not significantly slimmed down, as expected, it still shows the negotiation is on the right track. The parties exchanged views on a series of key issues and made progress in defining what could be achieved in Cancún. The Tianjin conference provided a platform for countries to bridge differences and seek common ground. This w ill help lay a solid foundation for success in Cancún.

Follow ing the weeklong talks, ministers of the BASIC countries held a meeting in Tianjin. In a joint statement, the four nations urged developed countries to fulfi ll their obligations to help developing countries combat global warm ing.

In Tianjin, negotiators came much closer to working out a new long-term financing plan to cope with climate change. What is China’s take on climate financing?

China firm ly supports the proposal of climate funding for developing countries.During their industrializations in the past, rich nations largely created the climate crisis due to their mode of production and way of life,but the consequences have to be borne by all nations. Developing countries are particularly vulnerable to the negative effect of climate change. That is why developed countries are now obliged to help their developing counterparts with mitigation of and adaptation to the effects of climate change. This is also in line w ith the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities.”

Developing countries face the daunting challenges of econom ic development and poverty reduction while tackling global warm ing. Learning lessons of the industrialized world, they also hope to get on a greener and more sustainable path of grow th. They are in dire need of help from developed countries in areas such as financing, capacity building and technology support. The core of the discussion is how to materialize the financing plan and set a longer term effective mechanism in this regard.

In your opinion, what is the biggest barrier for the global climate talks?

The climate talks are a very complicated process involving econom ic, social, scientifi c and ecological issues. But the process has slowed in recent years because many developed countries refused to shoulder their responsibilities or were just paying lip service to their pledges. This is in large part due to a lack of recognition of their historical responsibilities.

(Left)MATE COMM ITMENT:Tw o therm al power units in Zoucheng in east China’s Shandong Province are destroyed on August 27

The first comm itment period of the Kyoto Protocol w ill expire in 2012, and a second commitment period needs to be finalized. But some developed countries are trying to avoid further responsibilities and completely change the direction and the mandates of the negotiation in the second commitment period. There is a misconception that developing countries are at an advantage since they bear fewer emission reduction obligations and refuse to take actions. The truth is developing countries are also making stiff efforts, though they are entitled to equitable space for future development.

All developing countries including China oppose any proposal to rew rite or abandon the Kyoto Protocol.

W hat role has China p layed in the global campaign to tackle climate change?

The Chinese Government takes the problem of climate change seriously, and has implemented an array of concrete measures to reduce carbon emissions. In climate negotiations, China has also played an active and constructive role,together with other countries, to steer the world toward a climate-resilient future.

But preventing climate disasters requires a concerted effort from the international community. Haggling over one’s own gains and losses will not solve the crisis, but w ill only exacerbate the stalemate.

For its part, China aims to cut carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by 40-45 percent from 2005 levels by 2020. The country also hopes that by 2020, non-fossil fuels will account for 15 percent of its energy consumption and its forest coverage rate will reach 23 percent.

The goal is not w ithin easy reach. At a stage of rapid industrialization and urbanization, China w ill experience reasonable grow th in demands for energy. In addition,the country has nearly 100 million residents still living below the United Nation’s poverty line of $1 per day. That means significant constraints in the ability of controlling greenhouse gas em issions.

By the end of 2010, the country is expected to lower energy consumption per unit of GDP by 20 percent from 2005 levels. The result comes at a painful cost—the government has stepped up a heavy clampdown on energy-guzzling sectors and has phased out a handful of polluting industrial capacities.

But after picking the low-hanging fruits,going green w ill become a bumpier long road for China. The only option is to accelerate restructuring of the economy and to sw itch to renewable energies. Vigorous efforts are also needed to boost the energy efficiency and green industries.

Despite those difficulties, China is confident it w ill fulfi ll its comm itment. The green endeavor w ill require a comprom ise on econom ic grow th, but is well worth the effort,given its far-reaching implications.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Forum on China-A frica Cooperation (FOCAC). What is the extent of China’s cooperation w ith African countries in response to climate change?

China and A frica have many experiences to share w ith each other, since both are vulnerable to climate change. At FOCAC M inisterial Conference last year, Prem ier W en Jiabao p ledged that China w ould strengthen cooperation w ith Africa to combat climate change. During his visit to Africa earlier this year, Xie Zhenhua, Vice Chairman of the NDRC, met Jean Ping, Chairman of the A frican Union Comm ission, and they discussed deeper dialogue and cooperation in the field of climate change.

China has always spared no effort to help A frican nations, in terms of econom ic development under the framework of South-South cooperation. In the future, more efforts are expected to focus on climate change. This year, Beijing hosted a series of training sessions for A frican government officials and technicians regarding adaptation to climate change and m itigation of its effects. The Chinese Government is also considering setting up a South-South cooperation fund to push forward more relevant projects.

W hat do you expect from the Cancún c lim a te con ference to be held late November to early December in M exico?

In accordance w ith the Bali Road Map,the UNFCCC parties were supposed to finalize a second comm itment period of the Kyoto Protocol. However, that did not happen at the Copenhagen conference in December 2009.

So priority in Cancún is to complete that mission and reach a legally binding agreement on developed countries’ emissions reductions targets for the second comm itment period.But given rifts between poor and rich nations,Cancún might only be another stepping stone to a substantive deal, which is more likely to emerge at the 2011 conference in South Africa.

A more realistic approach for the Cancún conference is to move forward w ith a set of decisions on climate financing, technology transfer, capacity building, adaptation and deforestation.

Of course, a successful outcome still depends on the efforts of all parties. It is necessary for the international community to quicken the pace of climate talks and turn words into deeds without delay.

RIDING THE W IND:Tian jin M unic ipa lity puts its first w ind pow e r p lan t in to operation on Sep tem ber 7. In an attem p t to reduce carbon em issions,China has m ade a push in to renew ab le energies