Der Spiegel - Chief PRC Negotiator On Climate Breakdown - "The West Is Responsible"

[hatrack]

Progress towards a new global climate agreement has been slow. SPIEGEL spoke with China's head climate negotiator Yu Qingtai about Western responsibility for CO2 emissions in China and frustration in the developing world.

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SPIEGEL: Why isn't China trying to avoid the misguided consumption practices of Western countries in the first place?

Yu Qingtai: We don't want to deny our people the hope for a better standard of living. We are striving to do it in a more sustainable manner. Our national programs to combat climate change are already very ambitious. For example, we are about to improve our energy efficiency by 4 percent each year, we will expand the use of renewables and nuclear energy and we will increase forest coverage to 20 percent. Our track record will not pale in comparison to anybody else's.

SPIEGEL: Why, then, haven't you yet been willing to commit to international CO2 targets and remove obstacles for the US to come along?

Yu Qingtai: Because there is still a fundamental difference between China and the industrialized nations. People look at our impressive growth rates but they forget that we are still a developing nation with tens of millions of people still living in poverty. Western countries are responsible for most of the accumulated CO2 in the atmosphere. Their historic responsibility is undeniable but still some Western countries try to blame the developing world in order to distract attention from their own failures.

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http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,631146,00.html#ref=rss

[fascisthunter]

1. well... we all (globe) are... but we are definitely more responsible

the facts back this up. We use more resources than any other country in the World and therefore we pollute much more.