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China unveils Copenhagen targets | China unveils Copenhagen targets |
(about 1 hour later) | |
China has unveiled its first firm target for limiting greenhouse gas emissions, two weeks before a global summit on climate change in Copenhagen. | |
Beijing said it would aim to reduce its "carbon intensity" by 40-45% by the year 2020, compared with 2005 levels. | |
Carbon intensity, China's preferred measurement, is the amount of carbon dioxide emitted for each unit of GDP. | |
But our correspondent says it does not mean China's overall levels of carbon dioxide will start falling. | |
Its economy is still growing and is mostly fuelled by polluting coal, says the BBC's Quentin Sommerville in Beijing. | |
It will be at least a couple of decades before China's emissions peak, so it is likely to remain the largest polluter for some time to come, he adds. | |
ANALYSIS Richard Black, BBC News environment correspondent | |
The 40-45% target for cutting carbon intensity is ambitious - more ambitious than many observers had expected. | |
But it doesn't mean China's emissions will fall - in fact they are still likely to rise, with the rate at which economic growth rises outstripping the rate at which carbon intensity falls. | |
This is exactly the kind of plan that major developing countries were supposed to take to the Copenhagen summit. | |
Coming on the heels of President Obama's decision to put numbers on the table for cutting US emissions, it is likely to make discussions in Copenhagen a lot more straightforward. | |
But whether developing countries are impressed by the size of the US commitment is another matter. | |
The Copenhagen UN summit - between 7-18 December - aims to draw up a treaty to succeed the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, although observers say this is unlikely. | |
Beijing also said on Thursday that Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao would attend the talks. | |
That confirmation came a day after US President Barack Obama said he would also go to the summit. | |
The US - the second largest polluter after China - said President Obama would offer to cut US emissions by 17% from 2005 levels by 2020. | |
But the offer was less than hoped for by the EU, Japan and UN scientists - most other countries' targets are given in comparison with 1990 figures. | |
BBC environment correspondent Richard Black says that on that basis the US figure amounts to just a few percentage points, as its emissions have risen by about 15% since 1990. | |
Leading role | |
This is much less than the EU's pledge of a 20% cut over the same period, or a 30% cut if there is a global deal; and much less than the 25-40% figure that developing countries are demanding. | |
CLIMATE CHANGE GLOSSARYGlossary in full | |
President Obama will arrive at the summit after it opens and will not stay until the end, when delegates hope to stitch together a deal. While in Europe, he will also collect his Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo. | |
Thursday's announcement by China marks the first time it has issued numerical targets for plans to curb the growth of greenhouse gas emissions. | |
A statement from Beijing's State Council, or cabinet, said: "This is a voluntary action taken by the Chinese government based on its own national conditions and is a major contribution to the global effort in tackling climate change," Xinhua news agency reported. | A statement from Beijing's State Council, or cabinet, said: "This is a voluntary action taken by the Chinese government based on its own national conditions and is a major contribution to the global effort in tackling climate change," Xinhua news agency reported. |
Our Beijing correspondent says this is a commitment to make Chinese factories and power plants use fuel more efficiently and get better results. | |
China is showing that it wants to play a leading role in tackling global climate change, he adds. | |
It has already made a pledge to increase its renewable energy targets to grow more forests and develop green industries. |