China Announces White Paper on Climate Change      

The State Council Information Center, PR China announced on October 29th the white paper - China's Policies and Actions for Addressing Climate Change that introduces the impact of climate change on China, China's policies and actions to decelerate and to adapt to climate change and institution and mechanism building for coping with climate change.
    The paper represents China, as a responsible developing country, sets great store by climate change issues, although China is a developing country with a large population, a relatively low level of economic development, a complex climate and a fragile co-environment. The multiple pressures of developing the economy, eliminating poverty and mitigating the emissions of greenhouse gases constitute difficulties for China in its efforts to cope with climate change, since the country is undergoing rapid economic development. China has formulated and implemented a national plan for coping with climate change, and adopted a series of policies and measures in this regard. China combines the handling of climate change with its execution of its sustainable development strategy, acceleration of building a resource-conserving and environmental-friendly society and construction of a country of innovation. Taking economic development as the core objective, and placing emphasis on energy conservation, optimization of the energy mix, reinforcement of ecological protection and construction, and scientific and technological progress as backup, China strives to control and mitigate the emission of greenhouse gases and continuously enhance the capability of adapting itself to climate change.
    By this paper, the Chinese government promises to participate actively in worldwide efforts to address climate change, earnestly observes the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol, and plays a constructive role in international cooperation in this regard.
    Till July 20th, 2008 China has registered 244 CDM (clean development mechanism) projects in the United Nations, these projects are predicted to annually reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 113 million tons. China, in this paper, declares these operated CDM projects help China effectively develop renewable energy and hopes the successful and effective CDM to be continued after 2012, with fairer, more transparent, simpler, more determined and further environmental completeness in the actual operation.