Special report:
Hu Jintao Attends Outreach Session of G8
Summit
Backgrounder: Climate change posing
challenges to human lives
TOYAKO, Japan, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President
Hu Jintao put forward a three-point proposal Wednesday for the world's major
economies on the fight against climate change.
Hu made the proposal when addressing the Major
Economies Meeting on Energy Security and Climate Change, which gathered leaders
from Australia, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, South Africa, South
Korea and the Group of Eight (G8) nations at Toyako, a resort town on the
northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.
"As countries represented at this meeting differ in
terms of stage of development, level of scientific and technological development
and national conditions, our endeavor to combat climate change should be guided
by the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities," he said. "We
believe efforts should be made in the following areas."
Firstly, Hu said, major economies should play an
exemplary role in fulfilling the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC) and its Kyoto Protocol.
The UNFCCC and its Kyoto Protocol, which have
established the framework, principles and goals for international cooperation on
climate change, reflect the differences in the level of economic development,
historical responsibilities and per capita emissions among countries and set out
the efforts that developed and developing countries should make respectively, he
said.
"Developed countries should make earnest efforts to
attain the goal of emission reduction defined in the Protocol and take concrete
measures to honor their commitments of providing funding and technology transfer
to developing countries," Hu said.
"Developing countries should adopt policy measures
for mitigation and adaptation and make whatever contribution as they can to the
fight against climate change in the context of sustainable development," he
added.
Secondly, major economies should actively advance
international negotiations, said the Chinese president.
Hu said this year and the next are crucial to the
effort in implementing the Bali Road Map, which charts the course and sets the
timetable for international discussions on an international climate change
arrangement after 2012.
"The international community should work together to
ensure progress in international negotiations on climate change," he said. "In
this process, the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities should
be observed."
Developed countries should make explicit commitments
to continue to take the lead in emissions reduction, Hu said, adding that the
"dual-track" negotiations should be pushed forward in a balanced way and
concluded on schedule, and equal attention should be given to the four aspects
of mitigation, adaptation, technology and financing.
The UNFCCC and its Kyoto Protocol should serve as the
main channel for international negotiations and cooperation on climate change,
with other initiatives and mechanisms as useful supplements, he said.
"We should demonstrate the political will and show
flexibility to ensure the success of the negotiations," Hu said.
The Chinese president said that thirdly, the world's
major economies should take the lead in carrying out practical cooperation.
Financing and technology are crucial but weak links
in cooperation on climate change, he said.
"There is now a huge funding gap in international
cooperation on climate change. We should work to improve the Global Environment
Facility (GEF) and other existing financing mechanisms and promptly implement
the projects under the Adaptation Fund to provide new and additional financial
support for developing countries as they endeavor to adapt to climate change,"
Hu said.
Scientific and technological progress and innovation,
as an effective means to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and enhance
adaptation capabilities, play a pace-setting role and buttress the efforts to
tackle climate change, he said.
Hu urged the international community to establish
effective technology transfer and dissemination mechanisms and realize
technology sharing to ensure that developing countries can get affordable
technologies that are both climate-friendly and environment-friendly.
"Given the strong complementarities that our
countries have, weare fully capable of taking the lead in carrying out
technologicalcooperation in this regard," he said.
The Chinese president arrived in Japan Monday and is
scheduled to return home later Wednesday.
Prior to the major economies' meeting, he also
attended an outreach session of the summit of G8 nations, including Britain,
Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States.
President Hu elaborates on China's
stance on climate change
TOYAKO, Japan, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu
Jintao said on Wednesday that his country will take substantial measures to cope
with climate change.
Hu made the remarks at the Major Economies Meeting on
Energy Security and Climate Change, which gathered leaders from Australia,
Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, South Africa, South Korea and the Group
of Eight (G8) nations at Toyako, a resort town on the northern Japanese island
of Hokkaido. Full story
Major economies leaders committed to
combating climate change
TOYAKO, Japan, July 9 (Xinhua) -- World major economies
Wednesday pledged to combat climate change in accordance with "common but
differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities".
Leaders from Group of Eight (G8) nations and those from
China, India, Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea, Australia and EU held an
outreach working session on climate change and energy security here Wednesday on
the third of the G8 summit. Full story
Will G8 leaders achieve breakthrough
on climate change?
TOYAKO,
Japan, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Many observers are pessimistic about the outcome of
discussions on climate change at the ongoing Group of Eight (G8) summit as the
member countries still remain poles apart on the issue. Full story
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