China and Britain Get Testy Over Climate Pact
By ANDREW JACOBS
Published: December 22, 2009
BEIJING — Chinese officials, stung by criticism in the West that China had sabotaged a legally binding agreement for reducing greenhouse gases during talks in Copenhagen, fired back on Tuesday, saying that wealthy nations were seeking to sow discord among developing countries in a cynical attempt to avoid reducing their own emissions.
In comments made to the state-run media, a Foreign Ministry spokesman took umbrage at the assertions made by Ed Miliband, the British secretary of state for energy and climate change, who said that Beijing had thwarted the passage of an ironclad agreement last week.
Mr. Miliband, in an article published Sunday in The Guardian newspaper, accused China of scuttling a proposal that would have reduced global emissions by 50 percent by 2050 with developed countries pledging to reduce climate-warming pollution by 80 percent over the same period. “The last two weeks at times have presented a farcical picture to the public,” he wrote. “We cannot again allow negotiations on real points of substance to be hijacked in this way.”
Although she did not identity Mr. Miliband by name, the Foreign Ministry spokesman, Jiang Yu, said “an individual British politician” was seeking to avoid the obligations of developed nations by sowing discord among poorer countries. The attempt, she said, was doomed to fail.
“We urge them to correct mistakes, fulfill their obligations to developing countries in an earnest way, and stay away from activities that hinder the international community,” the spokesman said.
In contrast to many Europeans, who were unhappy with the deal struck last weekend, Chinese leaders have been pleased by the outcome, which allowed them to walk away with their initial proposal — a 45 percent target for cutting the intensity of carbon emissions by 2020 — almost entirely intact.
Although environmental groups have expressed some disappointment, they have largely cast the talks as a critical step forward, citing an American pledge to raise $100 billion for poor nations coping with the impacts of climate change and China’s concession to allow verification of its carbon emissions.
Alex L. Wang, director of the China environmental law project at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said the focus on a legally binding agreement obscured much of the progress made in Copenhagen. He said the coming months will be critical as details of the accord are negotiated and lawmakers in the United States grapple with climate-change legislation. “This is not a perfect deal but at least it moves the ball forward in important ways,” he said.
By ANDREW JACOBS
Published: December 22, 2009
BEIJING — Chinese officials, stung by criticism in the West that China had sabotaged a legally binding agreement for reducing greenhouse gases during talks in Copenhagen, fired back on Tuesday, saying that wealthy nations were seeking to sow discord among developing countries in a cynical attempt to avoid reducing their own emissions.
In comments made to the state-run media, a Foreign Ministry spokesman took umbrage at the assertions made by Ed Miliband, the British secretary of state for energy and climate change, who said that Beijing had thwarted the passage of an ironclad agreement last week.
Mr. Miliband, in an article published Sunday in The Guardian newspaper, accused China of scuttling a proposal that would have reduced global emissions by 50 percent by 2050 with developed countries pledging to reduce climate-warming pollution by 80 percent over the same period. “The last two weeks at times have presented a farcical picture to the public,” he wrote. “We cannot again allow negotiations on real points of substance to be hijacked in this way.”
Although she did not identity Mr. Miliband by name, the Foreign Ministry spokesman, Jiang Yu, said “an individual British politician” was seeking to avoid the obligations of developed nations by sowing discord among poorer countries. The attempt, she said, was doomed to fail.
“We urge them to correct mistakes, fulfill their obligations to developing countries in an earnest way, and stay away from activities that hinder the international community,” the spokesman said.
In contrast to many Europeans, who were unhappy with the deal struck last weekend, Chinese leaders have been pleased by the outcome, which allowed them to walk away with their initial proposal — a 45 percent target for cutting the intensity of carbon emissions by 2020 — almost entirely intact.
Although environmental groups have expressed some disappointment, they have largely cast the talks as a critical step forward, citing an American pledge to raise $100 billion for poor nations coping with the impacts of climate change and China’s concession to allow verification of its carbon emissions.
Alex L. Wang, director of the China environmental law project at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said the focus on a legally binding agreement obscured much of the progress made in Copenhagen. He said the coming months will be critical as details of the accord are negotiated and lawmakers in the United States grapple with climate-change legislation. “This is not a perfect deal but at least it moves the ball forward in important ways,” he said.