Singapore: Asia-Pacific leaders will drop a
fixed target for halving greenhouse gas emissions in a final
summit statement, a Chinese official said on Saturday.
"On the 50 percent reduction target (from 1990 levels) by
2050, yes, it did appear in the draft," said Yi Xianliang, a
Chinese foreign ministry official who is part of the country's
negotiating team at world climate talks.
"However, it is a very controversial issue in the world
community... if we put it in this (final) statement, I think
it would disrupt the negotiation process," he told reporters
on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
(APEC) summit.
Leaders from 21 APEC members including US President
Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao are in Singapore
for an annual summit ending tomorrow.
The meeting is one of the last international gatherings
ahead of world
climate change talks opening in Copenhagen on December 7.
Chinese officials said Hu would attend a breakfast
meeting tomorrow called by Australian Prime Minister Kevin
Rudd dedicated to the climate change issue, and would give a
speech outlining steps China has taken to battle global
warming.
Bureau Report
First Published: Sunday, November 15, 2009, 00:08