A senior Chinese legislator said China is drafting a law to act to combat climate change, a move that signals the country's proactive role in honoring its commitment to curtailing emissions, among other measures, in tackling climate change.

"The responsibility of lawmakers is to urge the government to take concrete steps to meet its promises," Chen Zhili, vice chairwoman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), told experts attending a two-day forum on climate change legislation being held in Tianjin beginning.

Despite a broad range of government issues, China is taking serious measures in dealing with climate change and has achieved remarkable progress, Chen said.

lawmakers will particularly base China's climate change legislation on a resolution passed by the NPC last August.

The resolution says China will adhere to "the basic framework" set up in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), signed by more than 150 countries in 1992, and the Kyoto Protocol, agreed to in 1997 by the majority of the international community, to set binding targets for developed countries to reduce CO2 emissions, along with the principles of UNFCCC-endorsed "common but differentiated responsibilities" as well as "sustainable development."

Many developing countries are gravely suffering from the damage caused by extreme weathers this year. The international community should provide greater support to these countries in terms of finance, technical support, and capability building to boost their ability to deal with natural disasters, Chen said.

More than 60 lawmakers and law experts from 16 countries and regions are participating in the Tianjin forum on climate change legislation, co-hosted by the NPC and Global Legislators Organization for a Better Environment.

(Xinhua News Agency November 7, 2010)