Never before has climate change been as prominent on the public agenda as it is today. Its relevance was highlighted once again when more than 10,000 delegates from over 180 countries flocked to Bali early this month to discuss the topic. Environment officials as well as representatives from intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations gathered on the Indonesian island on December 3-14 for the UN Climate Change Conference.

The two-week conference, formally called the 13th Conference of the 192 Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Third Meeting of the 176 Parties to the Kyoto Protocol, was expected to jumpstart negotiations on a climate change deal for the period after 2012, the year the first phase of the Kyoto Protocol expires.

The Kyoto Protocol was adopted at the Third Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC in Kyoto, Japan, in December 1997. While the convention encouraged industrialized countries to stabilize greenhouse gas emissions, the protocol commits them to do so.

Under the protocol, which entered into force in February 2005, a total of 36 industrialized countries and the European Union have committed to reducing their emissions by an average of 5 percent against 1990 levels during the five-year period from 2008 to 2012.

The principles and provisions of the UNFCCC and its Kyoto Protocol, including "common but differentiated responsibilities," should be upheld when devising the future climate change framework, Chinese officials and experts said.

A proactive stance

In his speech at the high-level segment of the UN Climate Change Conference on December 12, Xie Zhenhua, Vice Minister of China's National Development and Reform Commission, underlined the importance of enhancing international cooperation under the UNFCCC and its Kyoto Protocol.

The UNFCCC and its Kyoto Protocol are the legal basis for international cooperation to address climate change, he said. The objectives, principles and model of cooperation established in these documents must be adhered to in the long run, he said.

The conferences of parties of the UNFCCC and its Kyoto Protocol are the most orthodox and effective forums to discuss and coordinate actions and measures to address climate change, Xie said. The future arrangement on international cooperation to address climate change beyond 2012 should continue to be built upon the "two-track approach." He called for strengthening the implementation of the UNFCCC and turning its provisions into concrete actions.

"Developing countries are innocent in terms of their responsibilities to the cause of climate change, but they are most vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change," Xinhua News Agency quoted Xie as saying. However, given the unprecedented broadness, gravity and depth of its impacts, the issue of climate change cannot be resolved by developed countries alone. An effective mechanism needs to be established to provide financial assistance and transfer technologies to developing countries so that they can make greater contributions to the global endeavor, he added.

The principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities" is the "cornerstone" of the international climate change framework, said Luo Yong, Deputy Director General of the Beijing-based National Climate Center. He pointed out that carbon dioxide has a long life span, ranging from 50 to 200 years. The current carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere is a result of the developed countries' unchecked emissions since industrialization began. Their emission levels remain high today. Because developed countries bear the main responsibilities for climate change, they are expected to take action first, he said.

Luo further explained that "common responsibilities" means that everybody should contribute to endeavors to tackle climate change, given the fact that there is only one Earth.

The Chinese Government has shown concern for climate change as it focuses on the country's economic development, Luo said. It has made serious efforts to improve the energy mix, enhance energy efficiency, reduce energy consumption, develop renewable energy and increase forestation. It also released a National Climate Change Program in June, the first document of its kind adopted by a developing country.

Environmental Partners

China and Japan, two of the world's major energy consumers, have worked closely together in recent years to save energy and protect the environment.

They have established "friendly, stable cooperative relations" in the fields of sustainable development and climate change, an unnamed official on China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) told Xinhua News Agency.