China welcomes US Bill, more needed

China's top climate change official welcomed a US climate change Bill but said Washington needed to take stronger action to ensure success at year-end talks to settle a global framework on warming.

Xie Zhenhua, a deputy chief of the National Development and Reform Commission who steers climate change policy, said the Bill was a positive break with the stance taken by the Administration of former President George W. Bush. But he said the legislation still did not meet international expectations for US action, or ensure a strong deal could be reached at UN-led talks in Copenhagen in December.

"We think that we should give a positive evaluation to this Bill," he told a small group of journalists at his headquarters.

"But in the area of tackling climate change, especially on the issue of cutting emissions, if they could take some more positive, effective measures it would give a bigger impetus to the year-end talks," he added.

The US House of Representatives Bill aims to wean industry off of carbon-emitting fuels blamed for global warming, and is a high priority for President Barack Obama.

Its core is a "cap and trade" plan designed to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases by 17 per cent by 2020 and 83 per cent by 2050, from 2005 levels. This is still far below the cuts developing nations have demanded from the US, until recently the world's top emitter although now eclipsed by China.

But Mr Xie hinted that China might be slightly softening its stance that developed nations should make cuts in greenhouse gas output of "at least 40 per cent" below 1990 levels by 2020.

Industrialised nations say that target is out of reach when they are trying to stimulate recession-hit economies.

Asked whether China still wanted rich nations to make 40 per cent cuts in emissions levels, Mr Xie did not directly reply but referred to a wider range mentioned in the footnotes of a framework agreement reached in Bali 2007.

"The negotiations for the Bali roadmap clearly required cuts from 1990 levels of 25 per cent to 40 per cent," he said. "We are still discussing this target and hope developed nations can take on their historic responsibilities."

Mr Xie held back from endorsing a draft US and Mexican plan to set a global target to cut emissions 50 per cent by 2050, saying that it was still under discussion but the world needed to focus first on setting realistic targets for the near future. The proposal is part of a draft document put forward by the US and Mexico at talks in Mexico this week. It will be discussed at a meeting of the 17-member Major Economies Forum in early July. Mr Xie said China would rather settle on firm targets for near-term cuts, which are harder to agree because they often require governments to make rapid and painful policy changes.

"We support the existence of a long term target, so that the global community can have something to work hard toward, to motivate our efforts. But we think although long-term targets are important, mid-term targets are more realistic," he said."Only when we have a more positive, effective mid-term target can we judge whether or not we can achieve the long-term target.