Foreign and Military Affairs

China indispensable in climate deal: Swedish PM

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-11-28 17:06

STOCKHOLM: The Swedish prime minister said on Friday that it is absolutely necessary to include China in the Copenhagen climate change deal.

"It is not possible to have a global deal to deliver the two-degree target without the participation of China," said Sweden's Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, whose country is holding the rotating presidency of the European Union.

"Therefore it is very important to be in China to discuss the issue," reasoned Reinfeldt, who is traveling to China to participate in the China-EU summit to be held next Monday.

The prime minister made the remarks in an interview published on the web page of the EU presidency.

Moreover, Reinfeldt welcomed China's proposed emission targets.

"We didn't see figures before, but now we see it on the table," said Reinfeldt.

"They (Chinese leaders) are very aware of the impact of the emissions in China," he continued, adding that the Chinese leaders were quite concerned both about the environment and the economy.

"I think it is very interesting to have these talks (in China), and they (Chinese leaders) are very open and want to have the technology to reshape their economy to have growth and lower emissions at the same time," Reinfeldt remarked.

China on Thursday pledged to cut its carbon intensity by 40 percent to 45 percent by 2020 compared with levels in 2005. Carbon intensity is a measurement of carbon dioxide emissions per unit of gross domestic product.