China's far-reaching tree planting efforts in recent years have benefited its environment and economy significantly and should be recognized as one of the key tools to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, the chairman of the non-governmental organization World Growth said on Wednesday.

"China's afforestation efforts have demonstrated that forestry expansion will effectively reduce global emissions and promote economic growth," Alan Oxley, also former chairman of the GATT Council, said in a written interview with Xinhua.

"China should be commended, and an expanded sustainable forestry will both offset carbon emissions and produce development dividends," said Oxley, adding that China's efforts have largely been ignored at the climate talks in Poznan.

According to a new report by World Growth, China pledged in 2006 to expand the country's forest area to 20 percent of total land by 2010, which would increase the size of China's total carbon sink by 50 million tons of carbon dioxide -- roughly enough to offset the emissions of the entire country of Sweden for a whole year.

China's approach to climate change is fully consistent with the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which encourages attention to climate change adaptation.

China is seeking to improve energy efficiency to reduce emission rates and it is also expanding its forest sinks, which are tangible measures to reduce emission rates, Oxley said.

"At the same time, given the need for China to continue to raise living standards and develop the economy, an overall increase in emissions for some time is yet inevitable," he added.

"This is understandable, China has also indicated that a key aim is to adapt to the impacts of climate change."

The UN technical advisor on climate change, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), stated that expansion of sustainable forestry is the easiest and cheapest way to reduce emissions. Yet it is still being ignored by negotiators in industrialized economies.

Referring to the ongoing Poznan climate talks, Oxley said a long-term strategy to reduce emissions should first give developing countries time to raise living standards.

(Xinhua News Agency December 11, 2008)