CHINA CALLS ON WEST FOR BIG EMISSIONS CUTS

China tells rich nations to cut 2020 emissions by 40%
Chris Buckley (w/Tom Miles and Nick Macfie), May 21, 2009 (Thomson Reuters)

"Rich nations should cut their greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40 percent by 2020 from 1990 levels as part of a new global climate change pact, China said…The pact must ensure wealthy nations "take on quantified targets to drastically reduce emissions", said the statement, issued by the National Development and Reform Commission…

"Developed countries should also give 0.5 to 1.0 percent of their annual economic worth to help other nations cope with global warming and curtail greenhouse gas emissions, China said…laying down demands for a conference in Copenhagen in December meant to seal a new climate change pact…that will build on the current Kyoto Protocol."

China is working to beat the best case scenario. (click to enlarge)

"…[Echoing a document Beijing submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) last month, the] new document pointedly says a new treaty "ensure developed countries that have not ratified the Kyoto Protocol assume corresponding and comparable emissions reduction commitments"…That demand appears aimed at the Obama administration.

"The United States under President George W. Bush set aside the Kyoto Protocol, citing among its reasons that China and other big developing countries did not assume emissions caps."

China is working hard to match the West's energy intensity. (click to enlarge)

"Beijing's latest statement also says that it and other developing countries must be allowed to balance efforts to combat climate change with the need to develop…

"Experts from the state-run Energy Research Institute… [reported that China's CO2 emissions are likely to keep growing until 2035 and urged massive spending to create a low-carbon economy because emissions] …could reach 5.5 billion tonnes in 2010 and 8.8 billion tonnes in 2035 [before stabilizing]…China is widely believed to be the world's biggest emitter…[although the] latest reported estimates… are much lower than other recent estimates…The projected 2035 peak and then gradual falloff in emissions may be an unsettling prospect for governments and experts who have urged Beijing to take swifter action…"