Premier Wen Jiabao yesterday spoke of China's desire to see progress and consensus reached up to now written into the outcome paper from the two-week UN climate change conference in Copenhagen, despite the gloomy expectations hanging over the Danish capital.
Premier Wen Jiabao yesterday spoke of China's desire to see progress and consensus reached up to now written into the outcome paper from the two-week UN climate change conference in Copenhagen, despite the gloomy expectations hanging over the Danish capital.
Wen said the paper can still provide momentum for future international cooperation and negotiation and he called on negotiators and global leaders to take swift action to lock in achievements made during two years of tough talks aimed at finding a successor to the Kyoto Protocol.
With snow melting in bright sunshine yesterday and with the UN conference entering its crucial final stage, Wen told Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that world leaders should make every effort to find common ground.
Wen will likely make his case during his five-minute speech at the UN climate change leaders plenary today. He is also scheduled to make a one-minute statement during the second phase of the plenary.
His stance was praised by Rasmussen, who said: "I hope all the countries will follow China's example by showing active and responsible attitudes to achieve a positive outcome."
Sources close to the Chinese delegation said China would like to see all the policy consensus reached so far included in an outcome document - such as carbon emissions reduction targets proposed by developed countries.
China offered to cut carbon intensity by 40-45 percent by 2020 from the 2005 levels.
US President Barack Obama has offered to cut greenhouse gases by 4 percent from 1990 levels by 2020 - or 17 percent against 2005 levels.
The European Union has said it will cut emissions by at least 20 percent against 1990 levels.
"All these targets should be written into the paper for further negotiations," said the sources in Copenhagen.
During his flight to Copenhagen, Wen told China Daily that Beijing's target was based on reality and he said China will not lessen its efforts, no matter what outcomes are reached today in Copenhagen.
While huge differences persist among parties at the climate talks, the Chinese government also suggested that disagreements should be included in the outcome document in an effort to push forward future negotiations and discussions, sources said.
The difficult two weeks of negotiations became deadlocked because "some parties intend to kill the Kyoto Protocol and endanger international cooperation", said Chinese chief climate change negotiator Su Wei.
Wen has been working hard to find a way forward, including his meeting with his Danish counterpart and the UN secretary-general yesterday, but he admitted several focused problems - mainly between developed countries and developing nations - blocked progress.
"China will continue to support the efforts made by the host, and will work closely with all parties in pushing for a positive outcome from the summit," Wen told Rasmussen.
He also said China will continuously support the efforts of the UN secretary-general in achieving a positive outcome.
Ban said Premier Wen arrived at a critical time, with the UN climate meeting at a final and crucial stage.
"During the past two years, worldwide negotiators have made efforts in forming a final document on dealing with climate change, a deal that is currently under busy preparation," Ban said. "I hope you can make good use of your strong leadership in achieving that."
Meetings between Wen and leaders from South Africa, the United Kingdom and Germany are also being arranged.
Wen has also been trying to build a consensus among other parties from small island countries, African nations and other developing countries.
"All these countries are most vulnerable to climate change and the international community should deliver a helping hand in the form of capital and technology transfer in an urgent manner," Wen said during a group meeting with five such countries.
On a different occasion, Wen said China will help these countries in the framework of South-South cooperation.
"We used to focus on agricultural and medical areas and the next is tackling climate change."