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Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao(C), Prime
Minister Jose Socrates of Portugal(L), which currently holds rotating
presidency of the European Union, and European Commission President Jose
Manuel Durao Barroso(R) hold the 10th China-EU Leaders' Meeting
Wednesday in Beijing, Nov. 28, 2007.(Xinhua Photo)
Photo
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BEIJING, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- According to a China-EU
joint statement issued here Monday, China and the European Union will continue
to strengthen cooperation on responding to climate change.
The joint statement of the 10th China-EU Leaders'
Meeting said leaders of both sides stressed in their meeting the great
importance they attached to the issue of climate change, and their willingness
to strengthen cooperation to jointly meet the serious challenge of climate
change.
"China and the EU are committed to the stabilization
of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level which would
prevent dangerous anthropogenic climate interference with the climate system, in
accordance with their common but differentiated responsibilities and respective
capabilities," said the statement.
It said the leaders reviewed the bilateral
cooperation under the China-EU Partnership on Climate Change and called for
progress to be made, including on research of near-zero emissions of coal power
generation technology through carbon capture and storage, as well as development
of concrete cooperation projects to strengthen China's participation in the
Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism.
The leaders agreed to step up their efforts to
further enhance the bilateral cooperation, including their cooperation on
technology development and transfer.
China and the EU agreed to actively implement the
rolling work plan of China-EU Partnership on Climate Change covering the
period2008-2009, including cooperation on province-level climate change programs
in China, climate change adaptation strategies and public awareness initiatives,
said the statement.
The two sides reaffirmed their commitment to the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol and
reiterated, in accordance with their common but differentiated responsibilities
and respective capabilities, the need for developed countries to continue to
take the lead in reducing GHG emissions beyond 2012 and to assist developing
countries in enhancing their contributions to addressing climate change.
China and EU are committed to moving forward in the
UN forum and called on all parties to actively and constructively participate in
UNFCCC Conference in Bali in December 2007, said the statement.
The two sides welcomed the progress achieved in the
"Dialogue on long-term cooperative action to address climate change by enhancing
the implementation of the Convention" and agreed to work towards launching a
process on a comprehensive post-2012 arrangement at this year's UNFCCC
Conference of the Parties in Bali so as to enhance the implementation of the
Convention and aim to complete work under this process as soon as possible but
no later than 2010.
China and EU also emphasized the importance of speedy
and substantive progress in the negotiations of the Ad hoc Working Group on
Further Commitments for developed countries beyond 2012 under the Kyoto Protocol
and aim to complete work under this process before the end of 2009, agreeing on
the importance of the engagement, investment of and provision of incentives to
private sector in tackling climate change and on the significant potential
economic opportunities of China-EU cooperation in this area.
Both sides consider technology as a major instrument
to address climate change and emphasized the importance of a post-2012 agreement
to help within the context of the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol to make clean
technologies accessible and affordable to developing countries by technology
transfer, deployment and dissemination as well as to strengthen the global
carbon market and to intensify cooperation on the adaptation to the increasing
adverse impacts of climate change.
Leaders of both sides witnessed the signing of a
framework loan of 500 million euros (some 733 million U.S. dollars) to China
from the European Investment Bank to support projects that contribute to
combating climate change, said the statement.
The 10th China-EU summit was jointly held on Nov. 28
by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, Prime Minister Jose Socrates of Portugal, which
currently holds the European Union (EU)'s rotating presidency, and European
Commission President Jose Manuel Durao Barroso.
