CHINA:China has presented a landmark policy document which promises to integrate efforts to combat climate change into its industrial and energy sectors and cut greenhouse gas emissions.
However, yesterday's policy document warns that the country has no intention of sacrificing economic growth to satisfy international calls to combat global warming.
China is poised to become the world's top emitter of CO2 any day now and the National Climate Change Programme is a significant document.
With the economy simmering on the back of booming industrial production, environmental concerns have been forced into a secondary position and Beijing has failed to meet targets on reducing pollution before.
Within the document's 62 pages, China pledges to restructure its economy, promote clean technologies and improve energy efficiency, but it stops short of including targets on CO2 emissions.
"The absence of any quantified targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions does not mean China isn't serious about reducing GHG emissions," said Ma Kai, the minister in charge of the National Development and Reform Commission, the government body which steers climate policy.
China's top economic planner was speaking to a news conference in Beijing two days before President Hu Jintao was due to fly to Germany for a G8 meeting at which global warming will top the agenda.
China's first national plan on climate change vows to combat global warming through energy saving, agricultural adaptation, and forest expansion. The plan promises to "integrate climate change policy into other interrelated policies".
There will be greater use of hydropower, wind and biomass energy, an emphasis on the use of coal-bed methane and nuclear power and greater efficiency of coal-burning stations.
China produced about 6.1 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2004.
The Xinhua news agency calculated that if all the objectives were met, the world's most populous country would emit 1.5 billion tons less carbon dioxide and equivalent by 2010 while still continuing to develop rapidly.