(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-05-26 10:31

KOBE, Japan -- The Chinese delegate on Sunday called on developed countries to take the lead in cutting Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and provide financial support and technology transfer to developing countries.

According to the United Nations Frame Work Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) , the Kyoto Protocol as well as the Bali Roadmap, developed countries should first meet the above requirements, said Xie Zhenhua, head of the Chinese delegation, on the sideline of the G8 environment ministers meeting.

Upon this condition, developing countries can then proceed from their actual national situations and adopt measures and policies to pursue their sustainable development, said Xie, deputy chief of China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), in a joint interview with Xinhua and other foreign media.

In this respect, technology transfer is a key element to implement the Bali Roadmap, said Xie, adding that in another sense, whether developed countries achieve their goal of GHG reductions or developing countries pursue their domestic policies on sustainable development, there must be a profound technological innovation to tackle climate change.

He said that only with a technological innovation could the goal of developing economy and preserving the biological environment be attained.

What China need most is the technologies in areas of energy conservation, energy efficiency and renewable energy development, said Xie.

Concerning the medium- and long-term goals of tackling climate change, Xie said that the parties concerned, typically Japan and the European Union (EU), differed greatly over the long-term goal, and the United States said that it will deliberate on the issue of the long-term goal but has not presented a concrete proposal.

We maintain that the establishment of a long-term goal needs thorough studies and scientific appraisals, said Xie. A country should adopt a rational and practical attitude and set a long-term goal on the basis of their actual conditions and their phase of development as well as the general trend of climate change.

In our opinion, the discussion on the long-term goal will still go on for some time, said Xie, suggesting that is better to formulate the medium-term goal and determine what the international community should do by the year 2020 than to engage in a lengthy debate over the long-term goal, so that we can adopt measures to protect the environment of our earth as soon as possible.

In the past 15 years, China has registered a 47 percent decrease in its per capita GDP's energy consumption, said Xie.

And China is anticipating another 20 percent decrease in 2005- 2010, he added.

The G8 environment ministers meeting opened Saturday in the run- up to the G8 summit scheduled for July 7-9 at the Lake Toya resort in Japan's northern main island of Hokkaido.

Three major issues of biodiversity, climate change and 3Rs ( Reduce, Reuse and Recycle) are on the agenda of the three-day conference.

Environment chiefs and relevant officials from the European Commission, 10 emerging economies, including China, India and Brazil, and eight international organizations have also been invited to be present at the gathering.

The Group of Eight is composed of the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Canada and Russia, the eight leading industrial nations, whose heads of government hold regular meetings known as the G8 summit.