Hu Jintao puts forward 4-point proposal on climate change

www.chinaview.cn 2007-09-08 18:12:14

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Special report: President Hu visits Australia, attends APEC meeting
SYDNEY, Australia, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- The 15th Economic Leaders' Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) opened here on Saturday. Chinese President Hu Jintao attended the meeting and put forward a four-point proposal for tackling climate change.
The APEC Economic Leaders Meeting, with the theme of "Strengthening our community, building a sustainable future," focused on climate change and other issues at the first day of its session.
"We should act in a highly responsible way for both mankind and the future," said Hu. "We should respect history, address current problems, be future-oriented, carry out practical cooperation and coordinate economic development with environmental protection."
The Chinese president put forward four proposals for tackling climate change, including ways of strengthening cooperation, pursuing sustainable development and promoting scientific and technological innovation.
First, cooperation is indispensable to global efforts to tackleclimate change, Hu said.
Climate change, being a global issue that concerns the interests of all countries, should be addressed through the joint efforts of all countries, Hu told the economic leaders of other APEC members.
In tackling climate change, helping others is helping oneself, and only cooperation can bring about win-win progress, he added.
Developed countries should face their historical responsibility and their current high per capita emissions, strictly abide by their emission reduction targets set forth in the Kyoto Protocol, and continue to take the lead in reducing emissions after 2012, he said.
Developing countries should, in light of their national conditions, take due measures including introducing and applying advanced clean technologies, to contribute their share to tackling climate change, Hu added.
Second, efforts are needed to pursue sustainable development, as climate change is ultimately a development issue and it can only be addressed in the course of sustainable development, Hu said.
"We should ensure that both production and consumption are compatible with sustainable development. We should optimize the energy structure, promote industrial upgrading, develop low-carbon economy, build a resources-conserving and environment-friendly society and thus address the root cause of climate change," said the Chinese president.
Third, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change should be upheld as the core mechanism for addressing climate change, he said.
The Convention and its Kyoto Protocol constitute the legal basis of international cooperation on climate change and are the most authoritative, universal and comprehensive international framework for the issue, he said.
"The Convention and the Protocol should be upheld as the core mechanism and main channel for addressing climate change, and the principle established in the Convention should be taken as the guiding principle for addressing climate change," he added.
Fourth, efforts should be made to promote scientific and technological innovation, as science and technology are important means for tackling climate change, Hu said.
"We should step up research and development as well as the application of energy efficient technologies, environmental protection technologies and low carbon energy technologies, increase capital investment in these areas, and boost technological cooperation and transfer of technologies," said the Chinese president.
"We should intensify personnel training, improve protection of intellectual property rights, bring into full play the initiatives of all parties and raise our overall capacity to jointly address climate change," he added.
The Chinese president arrived in Sydney from Canberra on Wednesday to attend the annual APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting. He is also on a state visit to Australia.
The economic leaders' meeting on Sept. 8-9 is the culmination of this year's APEC events, which also include the ministerial meetings, senior officials' meetings and a business summit.
Since its inception in 1989 in response to the growing interdependence among Asia-Pacific economies, APEC has played a vital role in making the Asia-Pacific region a driving force for world economic growth.
APEC currently has 21 members: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, China's Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam. The chairmanship rotates among its members.