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Developing Countries Expect Fair Agreement in Copenhagen

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The re-emergence of the Danish draft during the ongoing world climate summit has caused strong protests from developing countries.

Developing countries insist that consensus for a final agreement should be honored by fair and transparent procedures instead of imposing a groundless mandate.

"This is a party-driven process. You can't just put forward some texts from the sky," China's chief negotiator Su Wei said at the conference following the announcement by the Danish presidency on the draft.

"It has been agreed that the only legitimate basis for discussion on the outcome of the Copenhagen talks will be the results of the work by the two working groups," Su added, "It would very much endanger a successful outcome in Copenhagen."

"We have seen that developed country parties to the Kyoto Protocol are seeking to dismantle the protocol," which set binding emissions reduction targets for industrialized countries, said Nafie Ali Nafie, head of the Sudanese delegation, on behalf of the Group of 77 and China.

Nafie said developed countries intended to undermine the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities" by throwing away the Kyoto Protocol.

The texts also draw criticism from India, Brazil and other developing nations.

Expected to be joined by over 100 world leaders here in Copenhagen, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Wednesday left Beijing for the Danish capital to expound on China's policies, action plans and proposals on climate change.

Last month, China announced it would reduce the intensity of carbon emissions per unit of GDP in 2020 by 40 percent to 45 percent from 2005 levels. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon hailed the move as "quite important measures."

"As a big country, China will do its share, so we've taken a constructive and positive approach in the Copenhagen talks and elsewhere," Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei said in a recent interview.

China believed that only by following the principles set up by the Bali Roadmap, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol, can the international community reach a fair and workable agreement.

"The Copenhagen conference has now entered a crucial stage and made some progress, but some problems and differences still exist," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu at a regular news briefing on Tuesday.

Jiang noted the developed countries have tried to deny the UNFCCC, abandon the Kyoto Protocol and deviate from the Bali Road Map; on the other hand, they put forward various unreasonable requirements for the developing ones.

Statistics show that, for the 155 years between 1850 and 2005, countries around the world emitted 1.1222 trillion tons of carbon dioxide, among which 806.5 billion tons, or 72 percent of the total, came from developed countries.

Developed countries should bear major responsibilities for greenhouse gas emission reductions, as they have emitted most of the gases, Chinese Ambassador to Belgium Zhang Yuanyuan said on Tuesday

It is hoped that the wealthy nations would bear the responsibility for their high per capita emissions and make a pledge comparable to their national strength and the "debt" they owe the world.

However, the developed countries had not done their part properly so far and had been acting slowly in reducing emissions and providing financial support and climate-friendly technologies to developing countries, Zhang said.

As a developing country, China's major task is still eradicating poverty and developing its economy, while climate change must not be addressed at the expense of development, nor should it be used to justify perpetuating poverty and backwardness,he added.

"The key to the success of the Copenhagen talks is that the developed countries should demonstrate political sincerity, continue to commit themselves to mid-term quantitative targets of emission cut, provide the developing countries with funding and technological support," said Zhang.

He looked forward to an agreement at the end of the talks in Copenhagen which would be acceptable for all. He reiterated that, no matter what the outcome of the talks might be, China would keep its promise on cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

The UN Climate Change Conference, which opened on December 7 in Copenhagen, gathered representatives from 192 countries and aimed at mapping out a plan for combating climate change from 2012 to 2020.

(Xinhua News Agency December 18, 2009)

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