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| China backs India's stand on climate change |
| Press Trust of India / Beijing Dec 03, 2009, 17:22 IST |
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Ahead of the Copenhagen meet, China today backed India's stand that developing nations have no obligation to binding emission reduction targets and said it is ready to enhance "cooperation and coordination" between the two countries, which it termed as "victims" of climate change.
"We understand the current situation in India. We should take adaptation and mitigation measures based on our national conditions and capacity," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters here.
He said China is ready to strengthen "communication, coordination and cooperation" with India on climate change. "China and India are both developing countries and victims of climate change," he said, noting the two sides have no obligation to undertake binding emission reduction targets.
"The two countries do not have the obligation to binding emission reduction targets on climate change," he said. India has refused to accept binding emission cuts that it says could slow its economic growth and has instead harped on voluntary actions to stem emissions.
"Voluntary actions of developing nations will be subject to international monitoring, report and verification (MRV) as per agreed procedures to the extent that these actions receive international support," Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said in New Delhi yesterday as world leaders are preparing to gather for talks on climate change in Copenhagen, from December 7 to 18.
Unlike India, China announced its targets last week, saying that by 2020 it would curb emissions per unit of gross domestic product by between 40 and 45 per cent compared to 2005 levels. Qin's comments also come after China, India, Brazil, South Africa met in Beijing in November and decided to cooperate and adopt a common stand at the Copenhagen summit.
He pointed out that climate change is caused by the massive emission of western developed countries during industrialisation. "Therefore, China and other developing countries share the same interest, concerns, appeals and positions on climate change," he said.
"We all believe that we should be committed to the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) and its Kyoto Protocol, the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities" and the mandate of the Bali Roadmap, he said, adding the international community should join hands to address the climate change issue.
He also said developed countries should honour their promises by taking concrete measures to work out and realise mid-term emission reduction targets on one hand and providing financial, technological and capacity-building support to developing countries to help them counter climate change on the other.
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