China to seek positive outcome at climate change conference

Chinese President Hu Jintao said on Sunday morning China was ready to work with other participants at the UN-sponsored climate change conference to be held in Copenhagen next month to yield a positive outcome.

Hu said the Copenhagen conference was an important meeting of the international community to cooperate on climate change. Pushing for a positive result of the conference conforms to the common interests of all parties, he said.

State and government leaders from about 190 countries will attend the 15th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on Dec. 7-18 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Hu made the remarks at an informal breakfast discussion on climate change on the sidelines of the 17th APEC Economic Leaders Meeting in Singapore. The discussion was attended by leaders of 18APEC members and Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen of Denmark.

Hu made two suggestions on how the international community should work to tackle climate change at the next step.

Firstly, Hu said the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol had laid the legal foundation for the international community to collaborate on addressing climate change. The principle of common but differentiated responsibilities has already become a universally accepted and basic principle for tackling climate change. The "Bali Roadmap" has made clear the requirements and orientation of international cooperation on climate change.

Hu said all parties concerned should abide by the above principle and requirements, fully demonstrate political will, turn political will into real action to push forward the process of relevant talks and work to realize the goal of strengthening the implementation of the UNFCCC in a comprehensive and sustainable way.

Secondly, Hu said that in recent years, international talks on implementing the "Bali Roadmap" had made progress and reached consensus on a number of aspects.

He said the international community should build on the consensus and progress and work to reach further consensus on the following aspects:

The developed countries should continue to shoulder the duty of adopting mid-term, quantified goals for large-scale emission cut. The developing countries should, according to their specific national conditions and with the support of the developed countries in capital and technological transfer, try their best to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and strive to adapt to climate change. An effective funding mechanism should be established as the developed countries shoulder the responsibility of providing capital support for the developing countries.

An effective mechanism should be installed to promote the dissemination and transfer of environment-and-climate-friendly technologies to developing countries and help developing countries improve the capability to address climate change.

President Hu is in Singapore for a state visit and to attend the APEC Economic Leaders Meeting. He will leave Singapore for home after the meeting concludes on Sunday afternoon.

Source: Xinhua