Climate talks in Durban need China, EU leadership
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Shanghai Daily, November 4, 2011
In 1931, The Economist wrote: "The prosperity of Shanghai can still grow indefinitely. Towards the end of this century, it could be the richest and most prosperous city in the world."
What extraordinary foresight! Today, Shanghai may not quite be the world's wealthiest city, but it is certainly one of the most dynamic.
China's growth is impressive. It is also very encouraging to see China so willing to make its growth more environmentally friendly.
China is committed to reducing the carbon intensity of its economic growth by 17 percent over the period 2011-2015. This is an important decision because it marks a deviation from the trend. And, as we know, it is always the first steps that are the hardest.
I am convinced that this change will pave the way for other, even more ambitious targets in the future. China now has the technological capacity and the political will to achieve its ecological transformation. France, of course, is ready to support China's progress on that path.
China's stance in future international negotiations on climate change is crucial. It can help build positive momentum so we can strike a global agreement to limit the planet's temperature increase to 2 degrees Centigrade.
There is an emergency here. If we fail to take action by 2015, we will have released so much greenhouse gas into the atmosphere that we could be irredeemably off track by then. Although climate negotiations are often difficult, we should make sure that each step brings us closer to the mark.
The question of the future of the Kyoto Protocol, the first commitment period of which expires in 2012, is on the agenda of the next conference in Durban (starting on November 29).
But beyond that, our goal must be to open the door to the preparation of a new legal instrument that will include all major economies.
Since the signing of the UN Convention on Climate Change at the Rio Summit of 1992, the world has moved at a high speed, and so has the spatial distribution of greenhouse gas emissions across the globe.
We cannot stand still while the world around us changes. All major economies must participate in the effort, by appropriate means, in line with the principles of the Climate Convention.
The launch, in Durban, of a negotiating process towards a new agreement, coupled with an extension of the Kyoto Protocol for a transitional period, would be a clear signal to the world that we are willing to cooperatively engage in the fight against climate change.
It is essential for the Durban conference to register progress on international funding for the fight against climate change.
By 2020, as promised in Copenhagen, we will need to find ways collectively to mobilize US$100 billion annually for developing countries.
To achieve this objective, we will have to make use of a variety of funding sources, both public and private.
An essential contribution should come from innovative sources, such as the tax on financial transactions or revenues from global carbon markets in international aviation and maritime transport, which the French Presidency of the G20 has made a central topic of discussions in that forum.
Innovative financing is one way of infusing solidarity into the very processes at work in globalization.
For too long, we lived in the belief that our resources were unlimited. Now we must do our utmost to meet the daunting challenge of climate change.
China and the EU have a chance to play a leading role in Durban, breathing new life into the talks. This is an opportunity we should not waste.
