China would never accept checks at Copenhagen: official
AFP in Yahoo! News | Sat Jan 9, 2010
AFP/File – Chinese Vice Chairman Minister for National Development and Reform Commission Xie Zhenhua attends the …
BEIJING (AFP) – China was never going to accept outside reviews in Copenhagen of its efforts to slow greenhouse gas emissions, a top official said Saturday, after critics accused Beijing of blocking the talks.
Xie Zhenhua, deputy head of the powerful National Development and Reform Commission, told a forum that Beijing achieved its goal at the climate talks by ensuring aid for developing nations was not linked to external checks.
"Developing countries, especially China, would surely never accept this request," Xie said, according to a transcript of his speech.
Britain's climate change minister Ed Miliband has said China vetoed attempts to give legal force to the accord at last month's UN Climate Change Conference and also blocked an agreement on reductions in global emissions.
Finger-pointing and sharp recriminations followed the United Nations summit's final agreement, which has been widely panned for failing to oblige countries to carry out concrete greenhouse gas emissions cuts.
Xie told the forum at Beijing University that developing countries' voluntary pledges should not be subject to inspections.
Beijing went to Copenhagen offering to increase its carbon efficiency by reducing emissions per unit of gross domestic product by 40 to 45 percent by 2020 based on 2005 levels.
China, the world's biggest carbon polluter, has always said rich countries should take the lead in committing to substantial emission reduction targets and provide finance to developing countries battlingclimate change.
Xie welcomed the Copenhagen Accord set a goal of "jointly mobilising" 100 billion dollars for developing nations by 2020, calling it a step forward for future negotiations.
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