Mr. Chairman:
The Chinese delegation wishes to thank the Secretary-General for his presentation of detailed reports on the issues under agenda item 94 and associates itself with the statement made by Morocco on behalf of G77 and China on the item under consideration. The Chinese delegation will confine its comments to item 94(f) "Protection of the global climate for present and future generations of mankind" and item 94(a) "Promotion of new and renewable sources of energy".
Mr. Chairman,
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol have established basic principles for the cooperation of the international community to jointly meet the challenges of climate change. They reflect the common interests of all countries on this issue and constitute a political basis and a legal framework for the international community to address climate change. Ever since the Convention came into force, various countries have done much in coping with climate change. However, all countries, especially developing countries, still face challenges brought about by climate change. The international community and the governments of all countries must take further action to comply with the Convention and push for an early entry into force and implementation of the Kyoto Protocol, for this is the sole right approach to deal with climate change. We hope that those countries that have not yet ratified the Protocol will do so as soon as possible, so as to make their due contribution to the implementation of the Convention.
As climate change is a global issue, the international community must strengthen cooperation in earnest. Countries should fulfill their obligations in accordance with the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities" and build up genuine partnership. Any attempt to alter or distort this principle is both wrong and unhelpful to finding a solution to problems associated with climate change. In this regard, the developed countries bear historical and contemporary responsibilities and should take the lead to fulfill their obligations to reduce and limit the emission of greenhouse gases. The developing countries are the biggest victims of climate change. It is therefore essential to strengthen their capability to deal with climate change. The international community, particularly the developed countries, should provide technical and financial assistance to the developing countries and make the Special Climate Change Fund operational as soon as possible, so that the Global Environment Facility can finance the relevant activities of developing countries.
The issue of climate change should in our view be seen from the perspective of sustainable development and addressed accordingly. The Delhi Ministerial Declaration adopted at the 8th conference of parties of the Convention stated clearly that climate change should be addressed within the framework of sustainable development, which is in line with the principles of the World Summit on Sustainable Development. The Chinese Government believes that the Delhi Declaration should serve as a guiding instrument for addressing climate change and for future international negotiations.
On the promotion of new and renewable sources of energy, we agree with the conclusion contained in the Secretary-General's report that "there is reason to be cautiously optimistic" on this issue. This will help draw greater attention from the international community to the development, promotion and utilization of technologies for new and renewable sources of energy, so as to contribute to finding a solution to urgent problems facing mankind, such as poverty, climate change, environmental pollution, increased demand for energy and eventual depletion of fossil fuels. As new and renewable sources of energy are science and technology-intensive, their development and promotion require substantial financial resources. It is therefore particularly important for the international community and especially the developed countries to provide financial and technical assistance and know-how to the developing countries, for this is the key to the success of popularizing new and renewable sources of energy.
Mr. Chairman,
The Chinese Government has always attached great importance to the issue of climate change. As early as 1993, China ratified the Convention and in 2002 approved the Protocol. In recent years, the central and local government in China have done a great deal in addressing climate change and made notable progress in increasing energy efficiency and reducing the emission of greenhouse gases. At the same time, the Chinese Government has set forth the guiding principle of "actively developing new sources of energy and improving energy ratio". China's energy policy can be summed up as follows: ensure energy security and optimize the energy ratio, increase energy efficiency, preserve ecological environment, continue to open up to the outside world and accelerate the development of its western regions. China has made important contributions to the attainment of the goals contained in the Convention and its achievements have won worldwide recognition. We are ready to continue our efforts to overcome difficulties and join other countries in minimizing the harmful effects that climate change has on humanity so that future generations can benefit from our efforts.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
