Exports Should Be Exempt From China’s Emissions Targets, Official says

Li Gao, China’s chief climate negotiator, says that greenhouse gases produced by China’s massive export goods sector should be attributed to the countries importing the goods. Li, the head of the climate change department at the National Development and Reform Commission, says that 15 to 25 percent of China’s greenhouse gas emissions come from manufacturing goods for export and should therefore be attributed to importing nations, such as the United States, in international climate negotiations. “We produce products, and these products are consumed by other countries,” Li said in Washington where he was meeting with U.S. officials to discuss climate talks to be held in December in Copenhagen. “This share of emissions should be taken by the consumers, not the producers.” China is now the world’s top greenhouse gas emitter and its stance on export emissions is likely to further complicate the Copenhagen talks, which are aimed at drastically reducing global CO2 emissions.