Proposal Unveiled Ahead of Durban Climate Talks

China will urge implementation of the Bali Action Plan and inclusion of all developed countries into the Kyoto Protocol at the next month's climate talks in Durban, South Africa, said a senior official.

Describing the proposal as constructive, Chinese Vice Minister of the National Development and Reform Commission Xie zhenhua said China's call to implement of the Bali Action Plan means the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol should be upheld, as a major disagreement in Durban may be focused on the issue.

Xie, who has led Chinese delegations to previous climate talks in Copenhagen and Cancun, was here to discuss those issues with British and EU officials.

During an interview with Xinhua on Tuesday, he said some countries expressed recently their unwillingness to have the second commitment period after 2012 when the first commitment period expires because of the lack of "environmental integrity" as some developed countries, such as the United States, refuse to accept legally binding emission reduction targets as stipulated in the Annex 1 of the Kyoto Protocol.

"We hope the Durban conference would not be in a deadlock because of that issue," Xie said, adding that China called on those developed countries to make commitments that are comparable with requirements of the Annex 1 of the Kyoto Protocol.

As for developing countries, their volunteer efforts for emission reduction should also be embodied under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, Xie said.

The seasoned environment affairs official said China's proposal is in accordance with the principals of "common but differentiated responsibilities" and "respective capacities," and is realistic because relative targets are actually commitments already approved by individual countries.

Therefore, the proposal has won a lot of support, Xie said, adding that "the BASIC countries (Brazil, South Africa, India and China) will make the proposal together with the 77-nation Group."

Actually the BASIC countries have raised the idea in a preparatory conference for Durban, and "many parties considered it as constructive," he said.

Meanwhile, Xie admitted there would be difficulties in Durban as the conference's multilateral mechanism would possibly lead to a result "not satisfactory, but acceptable to all parties."

"For a multilateral mechanism, I think that might be the best outcome," he said.