China joins U.S. in pledge to reduce emissions

BEIJING — The Chinese government announced Thursday that it had set a target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 relative to economic development. China is aiming to reduce what it calls so-called carbon intensity by 40 to 45 percent compared to 2005 levels, according to Xinhua, the state news agency.

The announcement came the day after President Obama pledged a provisional target for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, the first time in more than a decade that an American administration has offered even a tentative promise to reduce production of climate-altering gases. President Obama discussed climate change with Chinese President Hu Jintao when the two met in Beijing on Nov. 16.

China and the United States, the two largest emitters of greenhouse gases, have been in discussions on options that both nations can take to address the issue of climate change. Both countries are expected to be crucial players in talks next month at international climate meetings in Copenhagen at which nations will negotiate terms for a global post-2012 treaty on reducing emissions, although leaders have said they do no expect to come to an agreement there.

Chinese officials announced Thursday that Prime Minister Wen Jiabao would attend, after American officials said Wednesday that President Obama also planned to take part in the talks himself.

In Copenhagen, Mr. Obama will tell the delegates that the United States intends to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions “in the range of” 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 and 83 percent by 2050, American officials said Wednesday.

China’s announcement on Thursday of future reductions uses an altogether different benchmark. China will measure its reduction by carbon intensity, or amount of carbon dioxide emitted per unit of gross domestic product, meaning that emissions would still grow but the rate would slow. China has rejected demands to announce an absolute reduction in carbon emissions, arguing that environmental concerns must be balanced with economic growth and that developed countries must first demonstrate a significant commitment to reducing emissions.

Ahead of Copenhagen, China has been trying to deflect pressure by showing that it has made its own commitments to battling climate change. In September, President Hu Jintao announced at the United Nations that China would reduce its carbon intensity by 2020, but drew some criticism by not giving a number at the time. Earlier, China had set a goal of reducing by 2010 the amount of energy needed to produce every 1,000 renminbi, or $146, of GDP compared to 2005 levels.

In Brussels, the European Commission on Thursday welcomed “the valuable steps China is taking to tackle climate change, and the leadership China is bringing to this negotiation.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/27/science/earth/27climate.html?_r=1&hp