China readying to adopt climate change treaty
Date: 23-Aug-02
Country: CHINA
Author: Scott Hillis
"We are currently making preparations on this matter, but it has not been finalised," a Foreign Ministry official told Reuters when asked if China would ratify the Kyoto treaty.
Another ministry official familiar with the matter, speaking privately earlier this week, said the State Council, China's cabinet, was putting the finishing touches on approving the treaty.
State Council backing is essential for all major treaties and laws in Communist-ruled China. The treaty would also need ratification from China's parliament when it meets next March, but the body is a rubber stamp for decisions made by top leaders.
The Kyoto treaty is aimed at spurring industrialised nations to cut emissions of carbon dioxide - said by many scientists to be a major cause of global warming - to about five percent below 1990 levels by 2012.
As a developing country, China would not be held to emission reductions under the treaty even though it is the world's second largest producer of carbon dioxide after the United States.
But as a signatory to the pact, China would be eligible for so-called clean development mechanisms, which would allow developed countries to earn credits for their emission goals by investing in emission-reducing projects in developing countries.
"NO TIME TO WASTE"
Premier Zhu Rongji, who has tackled environmental issues in the past, could announce China's backing for the pact at a U.N. conference on sustainable development starting later this month in South Africa, diplomats said.
"During meetings in the last month, we have perceived a clear intent from the Chinese to ratify the Kyoto Protocol as soon as possible," one diplomat said.
"We cannot be sure of the timing, but we wouldn't be surprised if they had something at the conference in Johannesburg," the diplomat said.
China's ratification would once again focus criticism on the United States, which says the treaty would hurt its economy while freeing developing countries such as China and India from environmental controls.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry official said this week Beijing opposed any attempt to renegotiate the pact or draw up a replacement.
"There is no time to waste and there is no time to have long-lasting debates or negotiations," Zhang Jun, deputy director of the ministry's department of international organisations, told reporters.
China has criticised suggestions it should also cap emissions, saying it must first focus on economic growth to raise standards of living for its 1.3 billion people.
However, China is increasingly concerned about environmental problems such as the clouds of smog hanging over its cities, and has taken its own steps to cut pollution.
Earlier this year, the State Council approved a plan to spend nearly $8 billion to clean up pollution and enact strict control targets by 2005.