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China vital in fight against climate change: Hollande

Xinhua, November 3, 2015 Adjust font size:

French President Francois Hollande said Tuesday that China plays a vital role in the global fight against climate change, hailing Beijing's major commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

"China has made two major commitments. The first is to catch up with the fight against emissions, and take all the obligations that we have imposed on ourselves," Hollande told Europe 1 radio during an official visit to China.

China has also promised to review these commitments every five years to "be sure that we won't have more than two degrees of global warming by the end of the century," he said.

He added that China, the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases and the second-largest economy, could involve other emerging countries in the fight to mitigate climate change.

On Monday, Hollande and Chinese President Xi Jinping issued a joint statement on climate change in Beijing, vowing to promote a working program on accelerating pre-2020 efforts in mitigation, adaptation and support at the UN climate change conference in Paris next month.

The joint statement issued before the conference was "essential" to cut global warming, Hollande said. "But that does not mean that the world will be at the rendez-vous," he warned.

In this context, the Socialist leader expressed concerns about a possible failure to reach a binding and global accord to preserve the planet as "some points are still unresolved," mainly the pledged 100 billion U.S. dollars for poorest countries most hit by natural disasters such as severe droughts, torrential rainfall and rising sea levels.

"However, today, I am confident, because a great country, China, has supported us," he noted.

As part of efforts to boost a UN climate accord in Paris by year-end, Beijing has pledged to cut its carbon dioxide emissions per unit of gross domestic product by 40-45 percent over the next five years and by 60-65 percent by 2030 on the basis of 2005 levels.

So far, 146 out of the 195 participating countries have submitted their national commitments. They represent about 86 percent of global greenhouse emissions, according to a UN report released Friday.

Hollande started a two-day visit to China on Monday to seek support for a new climate change deal in Paris. Endi