According to a China-EU joint statement issued Monday, China and
the European Union will continue to strengthen cooperation on
responding to climate change.
The joint statement of the 10th China-EU Leaders' Meeting said
leaders of both sides stressed in their meeting the great
importance they attached to the issue of climate change, and their
willingness to strengthen cooperation to jointly meet the serious
challenge of climate change.
"China and the EU are committed to the stabilization of
greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level which
would prevent dangerous anthropogenic climate interference with the
climate system, in accordance with their common but differentiated
responsibilities and respective capabilities," said the
statement.
It said the leaders reviewed the bilateral cooperation under the
China-EU Partnership on Climate Change and called for progress to
be made, including on research of near-zero emissions of coal power
generation technology through carbon capture and storage, as well
as development of concrete cooperation projects to strengthen
China's participation in the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development
Mechanism.
The leaders agreed to step up their efforts to further enhance
the bilateral cooperation, including their cooperation on
technology development and transfer.
China and the EU agreed to actively implement the rolling work
plan of China-EU Partnership on Climate Change covering the period
2008-2009, including cooperation on province-level climate change
programs in China, climate change adaptation strategies and public
awareness initiatives, said the statement.
The two sides reaffirmed their commitment to the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol and
reiterated, in accordance with their common but differentiated
responsibilities and respective capabilities, the need for
developed countries to continue to take the lead in reducing GHG
emissions beyond 2012 and to assist developing countries in
enhancing their contributions to addressing climate change.
China and EU are committed to moving forward in the UN forum and
called on all parties to actively and constructively participate in
UNFCCC Conference in Bali in December 2007, said the statement.
The two sides welcomed the progress achieved in the "Dialogue on
long-term cooperative action to address climate change by enhancing
the implementation of the Convention" and agreed to work towards
launching a process on a comprehensive post-2012 arrangement at
this year's UNFCCC Conference of the Parties in Bali so as to
enhance the implementation of the Convention and aim to complete
work under this process as soon as possible but no later than
2010.
China and EU also emphasized the importance of speedy and
substantive progress in the negotiations of the Ad hoc Working
Group on Further Commitments for developed countries beyond 2012
under the Kyoto Protocol and aim to complete work under this
process before the end of 2009, agreeing on the importance of the
engagement, investment of and provision of incentives to private
sector in tackling climate change and on the significant potential
economic opportunities of China-EU cooperation in this area.
Both sides consider technology as a major instrument to address
climate change and emphasized the importance of a post-2012
agreement to help within the context of the UNFCCC and the Kyoto
Protocol to make clean technologies accessible and affordable to
developing countries by technology transfer, deployment and
dissemination as well as to strengthen the global carbon market and
to intensify cooperation on the adaptation to the increasing
adverse impacts of climate change.
Leaders of both sides witnessed the signing of a framework loan
of 500 million euros (some 733 million U.S. dollars) to China from
the European Investment Bank to support projects that contribute to
combating climate change, said the statement.
The 10th China-EU summit was jointly held on Nov. 28 by Chinese
Premier Wen Jiabao, Prime Minister Jose Socrates of Portugal, which
currently holds the European Union (EU)'s rotating presidency, and
European Commission President Jose Manuel Durao Barroso.
(Xinhua News Agency December 4, 2007)
