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Chinese President Hu Jintao addresses the Summit on Climate Change at the United Nations headquarters in New York - Source: Reuters -
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China laid out a plan to curb carbon emissions by 2020 and US
President Barack Obama called on all nations to act now to tackle
global warming, as world leaders tried to inject momentum into
climate change talks.
With less than three months until a United Nation conference aimed
at sealing the world's toughest pact to fight climate change, UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called Tuesday's leaders' summit to
give negotiations an extra shrove.
"While the summit is not the guarantee that we will get the global
agreement, we are certainly one step closer to that global goal
today," Ban said at the close of the meeting.
The one-day summit drew nearly 100 heads of state and government
before official talks among 190 nations in Copenhagen in December
to forge a replacement to the Kyoto Protocol, whose first phase
runs out at the end of 2012.
Analysts and green groups gave cautious praise to China and Japan
but said Obama's speech was long on rhetoric but short on specific
pledges of US action.
In his address, Chinese President Hu Jintao said China's new plan
included vigorously developing renewable and nuclear energy and
promised emissions would grow slower than economic growth in the
future.
"We will endeavour to cut carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP
by a notable margin by 2020 from the 2005 level," Hu said.
The pledge, which marked the first time China has said it will
accept measurable curbs on its emissions, was seen as an attempt to
counter critics, especially in Washington, who say Beijing is doing
too little to fight climate change.
Hu did not include specific figures, however.
A Chinese official said those would be ready soon.
But the step comes in addition to China's current aim to cut
energy consumption per unit of GDP by about 20% by 2010 compared
with 2005 levels.
Climate aid
New Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama won plaudits for
pledging to offer more aid to help developing countries deal with
climate change and repeated his goal of reducing Japanese
greenhouse gas emissions by 25% from 1990 levels by 2020.
Hatoyama also proposed setting up a framework to coordinate climate
change aid, but did not give details of how much cash or what kind
of technological assistance Japan would provide.
Obama outlined his administration's work on climate since he took
office in January and said the United States was committed to
act.
But he offered no new proposals and did not urge quick US Senate
passage of a climate bill, which many observers see as crucial to
reaching an international deal.
"Our generation's response to this challenge will be judged by
history, for if we fail to meet it - boldly, swiftly and together -
we risk consigning future generations to an irreversible
catastrophe," Obama said.
"The time we have to reverse this tide is running out."
Ban wanted Tuesday's summit to give momentum to a G20 meeting this
week at which finance to fight climate change will be a key focus,
as well as crucial UN climate negotiations in Bangkok from Monday,
the last major negotiating round before the December 7-18
Copenhagen climate conference.
Progress
"It is slow progress, but progress nevertheless.
The standout was President Hu Jintao's announcement that China
will take on a 2020 carbon intensity target," said Frank Jotzo,
Deputy Director of the Australian National University's Climate
Change Institute in Canberra.
"The greatest difficulty for Copenhagen right now is US domestic
politics. It may take until well into 2010 for the US to be able to
make an international commitment that is credibly backed by
domestic policy," he said.
A climate change bill mandating cuts in US emissions is unlikely to
be passed by the US Senate by December while other domestic issues,
notably healthcare reform, dominate the agenda.
Talks leading to the Copenhagen negotiations in Denmark have put
developed and developing countries at odds over how to distribute
emissions curbs.
Poorer nations are pressing richer ones to contribute hundreds
of billions of dollars a year to help them cope with rising
temperatures.
"It was a bit disappointing that China did not give a number for
greenhouse gas intensity," said Knut Alfsen, head of research at
the Center for International Climate and Energy Research in
Oslo.
"But this is progress. Five years ago, climate was a non-issue
for China."
Environmentalists criticised Obama for not putting more specifics
in his first UN address.
"It is really more of a step back than a step forward," said Thomas
Henningsen, climate coordinator for Greenpeace International.
