Society
Chinese experts: Don't use Beijing for a scapegoat in climate change
By Li Jing and Lan Lan (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-10-07 10:06
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TIANJIN - Chinese NGOs and academics urged the United States to immediately beef up its domestic efforts in tackling climate change, and stop using China as its excuse for inaction on the sidelines of the UN climate meeting in Tianjin.
The US "not only failed in passing a crucial climate legislation on time meanwhile, it has been seeking to divert attention away from its own failures by pointing fingers on China," said Dale Wen, a scholar at the International Forum on Globalization, who led a report comparing the two country's policies and actions on tackling climate change.
When looking at two countries' pledges on cutting GHG emissions, the US also lags behind in terms of the absolute emission reduction amount, said the report, citing calculation by the Secretariat of the UN's Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
"China's 40 to 45 percent carbon intensity reduction target by 2020 translates to 2.5 giga tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) avoided in the atmosphere - three times compared to that from the US pledges," says the report.
Last year, US President Barack Obama promised to reduce his country's carbon emissions by 17 percent by 2020 from 2005 levels, which equals to 0.8 giga tons of CO2 emissions.
Meanwhile, it is also "ironic" for the US to attack China on its policies to switch to a low carbon economy, such as criticizing subsidies on renewable energy programs and setting up trade barriers against China, according to experts.
"Finger-pointing and using the trade system will risk a race to the bottom and threaten the efforts to address the complicated global issue," said Chee Yoke Ling, director of programs at Third World Network.
The open letter, signed by 12 Chinese scholars and six Chinese NGOs, and with support from 16 international organizations, was delivered to Jonathan Pershing, head of the US delegation, on Tuesday.
