China Will Not Accept Binding CO2 Targets at Copenhagen

China will not accept a cap on its carbon emissions at upcoming climate talks in Copenhagen, Chinese officials said. After several days of U.S.-China climate meetings in Beijing, Chinese officials said that placing a ceiling on its greenhouse gas emissions would stunt its economic growth. “China is still a developing country and the present task confronting China is to develop its economy and alleviate poverty,” a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said. “Given that, it is natural for China to have some increase in its emissions, so it is not possible for China… to accept a binding, compulsory target.” U.S. officials had said they would press China to accept some limits on its CO2 emissions, but the China Daily newspaper reported that Todd Stern, the chief U.S. climate negotiator, had backed off from that stance. “We don’t expect China to take a national cap at this stage,” Stern reportedly said. China said it would play a constructive role in Beijing and would set domestic energy savings targets and accelerate growth in its renewable energy sector. The success of the December climate talks in Copenhagen depends in large part on the ability of the U.S. and China to find agreement on a global plan to begin reducing greenhouse gas emissions.