China ready to prove development not threat
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A lingering doubt on whether China, a country of 1.3 billion people, would march into industrialization without posing threats to the world, seemed to ease as the Chinese government promises substantial CO2 emissions cuts.
However, the promise remains very bold and challenging as Fatih Birol, chief economist at the International Energy Agency (IEA), noted in Paris Thursday that China would have to bear more than a quarter of the global CO2 emissions reduction needed to limit planetary warming.
It is a sharp contrast provided that the country contributed about 10 percent of the world's gross domestic product (GDP), according to the World Bank's International Comparison Program in 2007 based on Purchasing Power Parities. The figure reduced to 5 percent if based on market exchange rates.
Labelled one of the world's largest emitters, the country started its ambition of industrialization within a century and only sped it up in the past 30 years, which led to fast CO2 emissions growth.
According to the latest national task plan addressing climate change announced Thursday, China would slice carbon intensity in 2020 by 40 to 45 percent compared with the 2005 level.
But, besides the environment, the country has other goals: it has to maintain an annual GDP growth of about at least 8 percent to secure a favorable employment rate, and to improve the annual income of its citizens from the present 1,500 U.S. dollars.
A proper apartment, good health and education service and travelling abroad are still out of the capacity of many Chinese families no matter how amazing the downtown of either Beijing or Shanghai looks.
As Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said in a meeting with representatives from India, South Africa, Brazil and the G77 group of developing nations Friday, great efforts must be devoted to reach the carbon dioxide emissions cut target.
And China is "serious" about doing it, as Wen insisted. The determination can be sensed from major actions made by state-owned power generation giants such as China Huaneng Group to control pollution and reduce carbon emissions.
Of course, besides a shared sense of responsibility to the welfare of all the people in the world, the country has its own stake in the cause.
The leadership is fully aware that the energy-consuming economic development will not sustain the country's prosperity.
Its economy, driven by the export-oriented manufacturing, has been in a critical turning point as all economies faced in the early stage of industrialization.
Although emphasizing the need to maintain the growth, the Chinese leaders made clear recently that the transformation of economic development pattern and restructuring are priorities.
It will mutually benefit the country and the world if the transformation succeeds.
No doubt it will not be a threat to the world to have a greener as well as more prosperous China.
