French President Nicolas Sarkozy yesterday urged the
international community to fight climate change unitedly.
Addressing students at Beijing's Tsinghua University, he said:
"Global warming is a global issue and we must take collective
action to tackle it.... We can't have one response for Europe and
another for Asia, one for the North and another for the South."
France endorses the "differentiated responsibility" principle to
fight climate change, Sarkozy said. That means the higher a
country's greenhouse gas emission level, the greater its
responsibility should be in tackling global warming, Sarkozy
said.
"In terms of per capita pollution, the damage our country has
caused is much more than yours, and therefore we should shoulder
greater responsibility (to undo it)."
He, however, asked China to pursue sustainable development as a
developing country. China should change its energy-intensive
production model quickly and thoroughly according to the size and
might of its economy.
"We are not asking you to give up your development," he said.
"China has the capacity to take this strategic decision and can set
the world an example."
Earlier, at the National Stadium (Bird's Nest), Sarkozy said he
would attend the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
But he has a demand. Accepting President Hu Jintao's invitation, he said in lighter
vein: "I will attend the opening ceremony but please reserve a nice
seat for me."
Sarkozy was in a jovial mood during his visit to the Bird's
Nest, where the Games' opening ceremony will be held, and the
National Aquatics Center (Water Cube).
"The buildings are amazing," he said, clicking photographs.
Later, answering a student's question at Tsinghua University, he
said France would send a "very important delegation" to attend the
Olympics opening ceremony.
All About
Climate change,
Global warming
(
China Daily November 28, 2007)
