COPENHAGEN, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- China Thursday reiterated its objection to subjecting its voluntary mitigation actions to international monitoring and urged parties at the ongoing Copenhagen UN climate talks to lock in their commitments in a document based on "common but differentiated responsibilities."
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei told reporters that Premier Wen Jiabao made that clear at meetings with some world leaders on the sidelines of the Climate Change Conference.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (3rd, R) poses for a group photo with President of the Maldvies Mohammed Nasheed (3rd, L), Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina (2nd, L), Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi (2nd, R), Grenadian Prime Minister Tillman Thomas (1st, R) and Sudanese Presidential Assistant Nafie Ali Nafie (1st, L) ahead of their meeting in Copenhagen, capital of Denmark, on Dec. 17, 2009.(Xinhua/Liu Jiansheng)
Negotiators from more than 190 countries are running against time to wrap up the 12-day talks, hoping to seal a deal to move forward the global fight against climate change before world leaders meet Friday.
The Bali Action Plan has clear stipulations regarding whether a country's mitigation actions should be subject to international scrutiny, He quoted Wen as saying.
"For developing countries, only those mitigation actions supported internationally will be subject to MRV (measurement, reporting and verification). The voluntary mitigation actions should not be subject to international MRV," Wen said, referring to the scheme requiring national mitigation actions to be "measurable, reportable and verifiable."
The Bali Action Plan, adopted by both developed and developing countries in 2007, lays down the basis for the current negotiations. Disregarding on what they have agreed, developed countries are trying to press China to accept international monitoring of its national mitigation actions.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (R) shakes hands with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Copenhagen, Denmark, Dec. 17, 2009. (Xinhua/Liu Jiansheng)
The United States said Thursday that it was prepared to join other rich countries in raising 100 billion U.S. dollars annually by 2020 to help developing countries combat climate change, but set a condition that emerging countries including China should accept international monitoring of its mitigation actions.
"In the context of a strong accord in which all major economies stand behind meaningful mitigation actions and provide full transparency as to their implementation, the United States is prepared to work with other countries toward a goal of jointly mobilizing 100 billion dollars a year by 2020 to address the climate change needs of developing countries," U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told a press conference in Copenhagen.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (R) shakes hands with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown in Copenhagen, Denmark, Dec. 17, 2009. (Xinhua/Liu Jiansheng)
According to He, Wen said China's refusal of international monitoring does not mean the country is afraid of supervision. Instead, China will take necessary domestic measures to ensure full transparency and implementation of its national mitigation actions. "There would be a monitoring and verification regime inside China which is legally binding in China."
Wen told the world leaders whom he met here that the Chinese commitment on mitigation actions is "non-negotiable and unconditional," the vice foreign minister said.
China's commitment is not conditioned on or linked with commitments by any other countries, developed or developing alike, and China will fulfill it regardless of the outcome of the Copenhagen climate talks, He cited Wen as saying.
If a document on fighting climate change can be made in Copenhagen, it can mark a huge step forward, Wen said.
Chinese premier: Financial support a benchmark for Copenhagen success
COPENHAGEN, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- Whether developed countries fulfill their obligation to provide financial support to poor nations will be a benchmark for the UN Climate Change Conference, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said Thursday.
"It is a legal obligation assumed by developed countries to provide developing countries with adequate, additional and substantive financial support." Full story
Premier Wen: China's climate action not subject to international monitoring
COPENHAGEN, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said on Thursday that China is not obliged to subject its voluntary climate action to international monitoring.
Wen made the remarks when meeting with some world leaders on the sidelines of the ongoing UN climate change conference in the Danish capital, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei told reporters. Full story
China could consider 2-degree-temperature-rise as long-term goal: premier
COPENHAGEN, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- China could consider the two-degree-temperature-rise as a long-term goal to strive for in the international efforts to curb global warming, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said here on Thursday during meetings with some world leaders in Copenhagen.
"We can consider having language such as the increase in average global temperature ought not to exceed 2 degree Celsius as a long term goal for us to achieve," the premier was quoted as saying by Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei at a press briefing. Full story
Chinese premier stresses need to stay on dual-track approach in climate talks
COPENHAGEN, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Thursday stressed the need to stay on the dual-track negotiation mechanism in UN climate talks when he met some world leaders attending the Copenhagen climate change conference, Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei said.
"The negotiation under the Bali Road Map has been going on for two years, (and) the two working groups have worked hard and made some progress and achieved some consensus," He quoted Wen as saying at a press briefing on the sidelines of the Copenhagen climate change conference. Full story
China says its mitigation commitments "nonnegotiable,unconditional"
China's Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei addresses a press conference during the high-level segment of the United Nations Framework Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, capital of Denmark, Dec. 17, 2009. (Xinhua/Zeng Yi)
COPENHAGEN, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao told some world leaders whom he met here on Thursday that the Chinese commitments on its mitigation actions are "nonnegotiable and unconditional," Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei said.
Developed nations' attempt to link developing nations' mitigation targets with their own emissions reduction goals is "not the way to go forward," He quoted Wen as saying at a press briefing here as the Copenhagen climate talks moved into the final summit segment. Full story
